Together
by kotorqueen
Summary: The chronicling of Revan and Malak's relationship during the years leading up to the Mandalorian Wars. As they grow, they learn not only what it means to be Jedi, but to be together. Revan/Malak.
1. Meeting

**"Well, it seems to me that the best relationships - the ones that last - are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is... suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with" - Gillian Anderson**

Chapter 1

Her breath came out heavy as she gently tapped her middle and index fingers along her bottom lip. Drawing them away she looked down to see a bright red liquid lingering on them, sucking her breath in as the pain echoed behind. She drew her lip into her mouth where the sickly sweet, metallic taste filled her senses. The world seemed to slow down around her as her brain adjusted to the haze of pain and warm blood.

"I can't believe you beat Revan, man," said the boy behind her, snapping her out of her momentary trance. She turned and glared at her friend Talvon, who threw up two hands in defense.

"I was going easy on the new kid," she answered, "And besides, that didn't count."

Her glare shifted from Talvon to the boy before her, breathing heavily as he watched in a silent horror as blood began to seep down onto her chin. Her eyes glanced to the wooden stick in his hand, that which stole the fragile skin across her lip. Their duel had gone on longer than expected, and soon drew a crowd. Evenly matched, it wasn't until her foot caught on a tree root, a careless mistake, and his stick caught on her mouth. There was no way that counted.

She drew her stick up again, raising it threateningly, "You'll have to beat me fair and square."

"Come on, you're lucky I didn't catch your eye or you'd be as blind as a Miraluka," the boy answered. She frowned and gave him a once over, he was about her height and had little more weight than her. He was pale, though it was amplified by the lack of hair on his head. In its place were four thick tattoos, tracing from where his hairline would be down to the base of his skull. She knew she could take him, if he were willing to fight again. She just had to go a little harder.

"What? Are you afraid of fighting a girl?" she taunted as an intense smile came to her lips, though by the looks on the other Padawans' faces it must have been horrifying. She thought about the blood in her mouth and smiled a little harder.

He shook his head as he threw the stick aside, "No, I'm more afraid of killing you. Besides, we could get in trouble, we're not even supposed to be fighting outside the training grounds."

"Trouble my ass," she snarled, though it turned into a smile at the way everyone reacted to her profanity, "This isn't about the Masters. It's me and you, right here, right now," she said lifting the stick in her hand and motioning towards his.

"Give it up, Revan," Talvon cut in, "Just admit that he beat you and we can all move on." The crowd around them began to dissipate as they realized it would just be another of Revan's arguments. She was stubborn and her arguments went on much longer than need be, but most of the time she could back it up. However, a Padawan's attention span could only handle her for so long, and she found that after a few arguments people started to care less and less.

"He didn't beat me, I _tripped_. And I'll have both of your heads for spreading that around the Enclave" She defended, pointing the stick between the two of them.

Talvon rolled his eyes dramatically, "I'll do your chores for a week if you shut up right now."

She considered saying no, but the thought of all the free time she would have was too great to ignore. She had been longing for extra time in the archives, her usual amount never seemed enough for her and she had been looking for ways to steal a little extra time.

"Fine, but this isn't over," she said, pointing at the pale boy whose eyes were gleaming. They crinkled in a smile, though his face remained straight. She rolled her eyes and walked away, following after the rest of the crowd.

She'd been hit before, but nothing as disgusting as this. She usually played a little too hard and it was usually what made her win so easily. She had become a Padawan a full two years before she was supposed to, and even then she was able to beat those older than her. It immediately put her off to the boy in front of her.

She heard Talvon come up behind her, she turned her head slightly to regard the boy. He was shorter than her, his blonde hair was floppy over his forehead, which she thought was unsightly for a Jedi. His footsteps were quick and light as he caught up to her.

"I think you hurt Malak's feelings, Rev."

"Who?" She asked, though they both knew full well she was aware of his name.

"Malak. The kid who just did that to your face," he said, pointing at her lower lip and chin.

She felt a little bad about the amount of glaring she was doing, but it seemed impossible with Talvon around, "Don't you have chores to do?"

He scrunched his face at her, "Look, just go talk to the kid. He is new, after all."

She sighed and looked down at where she was going, "Maybe," was all she said with a smile playing on her lips. He made a face before he ran off in front of her as she slowed her pace, looking around for Malak.

She caught sight of the other Padawan, hesitating around one of the many trees that filled the Dantooine plains. She watched him as he lingered behind in the peaceful quiet of the planet. She drew in a deep breath and sauntered over to him, catching his gaze as she drew closer.

His face was serious as she leaned up against the tree next to him.

"What do you want?" He asked bitterly.

She shuffled her foot against the ground, watching as the dirt freely formed the patterns she was creating, "I came to see if you were okay, Talvon said I hurt your feelings."

"You didn't hurt my _feelings_, so go back to wherever you came from."

"Why are you upset? If anyone it should be me, do you know how many rumors there are going to be that Revan lost a fight?"

He exhaled sharply, a smiling hinting at his lips, "You're a real piece of work, you know that?"

"What's your _problem_?" She asked, her annoyance rising greatly.

He frowned, "Did you ever stop to think that I didn't _want_ to beat yo—"

"You didn't beat me," she interrupted quickly.

"According to everyone else I did, and now they're going to think I'm some new elitist kid from Coruscant."

"Coruscant, huh?" she asked, suddenly more interested in the boy before her, "Well you're not going to make any friends with that attitude."

His eyebrows nearly lifted off his forehead, "_My_ attitude wh—how do you even have friends in the first place?"

"I don't care whether or not I have friends, it just so happens that people like me. Besides, I spend most of my time training or in the archives, and when I'm not doing either of those things I'm usually kicking everyone's asses. Like I should've today."

"And are you always this cocky?"

She smiled at him, "It's not considered cocky if it's true."

He bristled slightly through his teeth, giving her an incredulous look. She smirked at the way it didn't suit his features. Though he still had a baby face, she could tell he would grow into the strength of his jaw and brow.

"Yeah _okay_, Revan," he said through narrowed eyes, he motioned to his chin, "You still have a disgusting amount of blood on your face."

"You'll get used to it," she said through a smug smile, "Though I can't promise you'll always come out of a fight as clean as you did today."

"What if I didn't want to fight you again?"

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, "Why wouldn't you?"

"Why _would_ you? There's a good chance I'll beat you again, and I don't want to hear you cry about it," he said, turning his head away.

"Okay, listen, out of anyone here you came the closest to beating me in a fair fight, even though I'll _never_ admit that you beat me fair and square. Because you didn't. But anyway, I like challenges and you...you're a challenge," she didn't look at him as she said the words, as if they were an indication that she had lost to him.

He remained unaffected by it, "I didn't come here to be a challenge."

"Then why did you come here?" She turned her attention back to him, where his sulking features had lightened slightly.

"Why do you care?"

"Maybe I don't," she said indignantly.

"Good."

"So why are you here?"

He laughed a little, though more to himself, "You're not convincing me that you don't care."

"Well I don't. But if you're looking for friends I think Talvon likes you. Not that it matters, the kid likes everyone."

"That's obvious enough, he likes _you_."

She sighed, "Fine, I'm heading back inside. Are you going to be okay on your own or do you need help finding it?"

His right eye squinted as he looked at her through the sun, "I'll be okay."

She hesitantly lifted her head in a small nod, turning away from him. She was never too keen on other Padawans, and the ones from Coruscant were the worst. Case in point.

She trudged up the hill to the Enclave, where it was mostly devoid of people. She sighed, realizing how late she was, and that she probably missed her open session in the archives. That was another point against Malak.

Revan had barely made it through the doors when she was stopped by Master Vrook. She may have whined and cringed inwardly, but she smiled at him as innocently as she could. Though she was one of his favorite students, he never had anything endearing or supportive to say to her, so she knew she was in trouble from the moment his eyes landed on her.

"Padawan Revan," he said, his voice even and calm. She figured it must not be too bad.

While some kids were outright rude to Vrook, she would never disrespect a Master like that. "Master Vrook." she said with a slight bow of her head.

He gestured for her to walk alongside him, which she hesitantly obliged. She only came up to the man's chest, and she hated it, for he had to look down on her in order to acknowledge her fully.

"I heard that Talvon agreed to take your chores for a week," he began, causing her to close her eyes slightly, she really needed a tighter leash on that boy, "I'm not even going to ask what you had to do to get him to agree to that. Nevertheless, you should have plenty of free time this week, and I will have you utilize it in the best way possible."

She suppressed a sigh, "What would you have me do?"

"As I'm sure you know, we have a new student here. His name is Malak and he's only been here for a few days, he'll need a little guidance around the Enclave and I want you to show him around."

_Anything_ but that. She bit her incredibly swollen lip as she considered showing him around, she really didn't want to, and he probably wouldn't want her to either. "No it's okay Master Vrook, I'll do my chores." She had to try.

He tilted his head slightly, "Met the new student, now have we? Can I assume that he had something to do with the amount of blood on your face?"

She closed her eyes slightly in realization that she forgot to clean up, she wasn't usually that careless, "No," it wasn't technically a lie, "I tripped, and my lip split open."

Vrook gave her a look that made it obvious he didn't believe her, "Go to the medbay, I expect you to be kind and courteous to our new Padawan."

She nodded her head, "Yes Master."

He left her then and Revan headed towards her room instead. When she got there she went straight to the refresher. There, she looked into the mirror to inspect her lip. She figured that once she washed off the blood it would make a cool scar, so she rinsed off her lower lip and chin, sporting a fat lip with a long laceration across it. Sure, it hurt like hell, but if everyone was going to say that she lost a fight, she needed to at least _look_ like she had been in one.

She left the refresher and lay back on her bed, letting her tired muscles rest for just a moment. She traced the textured ceiling with her eyes, taking in the simple throbbing of her bottom lip. The way her pulse seemed to flow through it was a familiar feeling for her, she had always been too intense during her training. Those who should have beaten her didn't, simply because she fought harder, smarter, and she was quicker. Today was an accident, and the poor new kid hated her for it.

Though she wasn't sure entirely why...but he was strange anyways. The tattoos that traced his scalp were unlike anything she had seen before, and that thought alone disheartened her. She was used to knowing...more than the average Padawan. She lived off of the archives, and she was even more disheartened when she remembered that she wouldn't be able to access them for a while.

And then what was most disheartening was the fact that she had to show _him_ around Dantooine. There wasn't any way she was going to do that if he acted like a little snot again, blaming _her_ for his problems. She hardly even knew him.

The thought of him, however, was not enough to turn her stomach. And so she lifted herself off her bed, checking the chrono to make sure dinner would be available. She stretched out her tender muscles and checked the mirror one more time to make sure she wasn't bleeding again before she headed out into the hallway.

She walked the corridor slowly, reaching out her right arm and tracing her fingers along the walls as she passed. It was a custom for her, a simple feeling that she was addicted to, a childhood tick that continued to follow her as she entered her teen years. A smile played on her lips as she thought of her thirteenth birthday, not that it was a special occasion. Well it was special to _her_. She would never admit it to anyone, but she was definitely excited when the time came. But it had come and gone, and she hadn't felt any different from when she was twelve.

And it wasn't that as a Jedi anything special came with being a teenager. For regular girls it meant going to formals, wearing more adult clothes, and dating older boys. She didn't long for that lifestyle, but she always did have fun imagining what her life would be like had she been a normal girl.

Her hand dropped when she reached the cafeteria, letting her eyes wander in, watching for someone she knew she could sit with. She was usually friendly with everyone, but today she didn't feel like making polite small talk. She spotted Talvon and the long dark hair of their friend Cariaga. As she made her way over to sit with them, she noticed Malak at another table, seemingly content by himself. She sighed as she sat down with the two instead of him.

"I don't like him," she muttered upon sitting, earning curious glances from Talvon and Cariaga.

Cariaga glanced over her shoulder at Malak, but Talvon knew who she was talking about. He gave her a smug smile, "You don't like anyone who can compete with you."

"That's not true," she defended, "Some of my favorite people are those who have inflicted me with the most pain during a fight. I don't like him because he...I don't know, I feel like he didn't even give me a chance."

Cariaga furrowed her brow, "What happened?" She asked as she glanced at Talvon and he nodded at her, they both wanted to know.

"I wouldn't say anything...happened, I just went to talk to him after the whole incident today and he was snappy and rude and I did not appreciate it."

Talvon tilted his head to the side, "Oh come _on_ Rev, we all know you. Did you gloat at all? Did you say anything that would put him off?"

Revan smiled to herself as she looked beyond her friends and at Malak, "Probably, but that doesn't change the fact that he was rude to me."

Talvon and Cariaga shared a humorous look with each other, and they both turned back to her with raised eyebrows.

"Okay, fine whatever. But still, Vrook has me showing him around tomorrow during the time which I could've spent in the archi—"

"Which," Talvon interrupted, pointing his fork at her, "is once again, your fault. While I'll be doing your chores, you'll be spending precious time with your new boyfriend."

She knew the look she gave him then could've killed, and he looked warily at her hands as if expecting at any moment she would swing out at him, "He is _not_ my boyfriend, he's not even my friend! He's just some stupid boy who did this to my face," she said, pointing at her bottom lip.

Talvon's face was unsympathetic, but Cariaga seemed to care, maybe just a little bit, "What do you want from us, Revan?" She asked.

Revan slumped onto her shoulders, resting her chin on her crossed arms, "Feel sorry for me?" she asked, looking up at them with her most innocent face.

It worked as well as it did on Master Vrook.

"Nope," Talvon said as he finished the last few morsels of food on his plate, "You got yourself into this one, Rev."

"Shut up, Talvon," she said, though her voice was full of humor, "You _offered_ to do my chores for me."

"Well maybe I wouldn't have if you didn't make such a big deal about losing to Malak."

"Once again, I didn't l—" she stopped speaking at the look he was giving her, and though she hated to admit it, she could hear it herself how old it was getting. Instead of continuing, she pouted at him, hoping it would get her somewhere in this conversation.

"Nuh-uh, you're not doing this to me again," he said, plopping his fork down on his plate, "Maybe I'll go see for myself if he's a bad kid or not." He stood from his seat across from Revan and went over to Malak. She watched him the entire walk over, and as he sat down he looked at her indignantly. She smirked as his face changed to that of a friendly one and extended his hand to Malak.

She had a feeling Malak probably didn't appreciate it, though she couldn't be sure. She hardly knew him, and she wasn't looking forward to getting to know him. She looked back to Cariaga, who glanced at her with raised eyebrows.

"Talvon's a piece of work, man," Revan muttered, though she didn't mean it. He had been one of her closest friends at the Enclave, closer than she had been with any of the females. Girls just didn't appreciate the same things she did. She liked getting rough and fighting, she didn't care about how clean her robes were or how her hair looked, which didn't give her much in common with the other girls.

But Cariaga was better than most girls, especially Nisotsa, who grated on _everyone's_ nerves. Revan smiled at the girl across from her, who was pushing around the last of her food.

"I should probably go back to my room early," Revan muttered upon standing, "Especially if I have to deal with _him_ tomorrow," she said with a small smile. Caraiga smiled back.

Revan walked by the boys, giving a small salute to Talvon. They both looked at her oddly, giving her the feeling they had probably been talking about her. She didn't care though, and shook her head slightly before she made her way back to her room. Her arms were heavy and her lip hurt more than it had initially, but those things didn't compare to how terrible her mind was telling her tomorrow would be.

She opened her door and threw herself onto the bed, allowing her feet and arms to hang off the edges. She didn't bother with her robes or boots, she was tired and her whole body was starting to hurt. She took in a few meditative breaths before she closed her eyes and allowed the energy she would need for tomorrow to seep in.


	2. The Magical Mystery Tour

Revan awoke with a groan, her body must have shifted uncomfortably through the night and her muscles ached because of it. She decided then that she was going to get up, brush herself off, and get through the day as quickly and painlessly as possible. Malak would just have to deal.

She went to the refresher first to take look at her lip, which didn't hurt as badly as it had the day before. It looked, however, far worse as the skin around it had turned a deep shade of purple and the actual lip cracked and yellowed. She made a face at herself in the mirror and went back to change her robes. She had never been one to care how she looked, she usually kept her hair in a long french braid and made sure she was wearing clean robes. Other than that she couldn't be bothered.

Once she changed, she stepped gingerly into the hallway. She was an early riser and she didn't want to wake any of the other Padawans. In the past they made it clear that they didn't like that. She let her hands trace along the walls, using only her fingertips to brush against the faint texture.

She entered the cafeteria, nearly empty save a few Padawans. She smiled at the familiar shape sitting at a table by himself. One of the main reasons she had become friends with Talvon was because he was faithfully one of the first ones up. She couldn't recall a single day when she had gotten breakfast and he hadn't been there.

He watched her as she got her food, so she made a display of it, making faces as she loaded her plate. He laughed a bit, but his face changed as she walked towards him. His sandy hair was more unkempt than usual and his robes were a bit disheveled, but she didn't really mind today. She did mind, however, the way his eyebrows furrowed as she drew closer.

"What?" She asked as she settled into the seat across from him.

He waited a few moments while he chewed a rather large bite, but soon a smug look came over his face, "You know, if you and Malak had met differently yesterday you'd probably be best friends by now."

Her hand holding her fork was halfway in the air between her plate and her mouth when she stopped to make a face. "What makes you say that?"

Talvon shrugged, "He likes fighting. A lot. Well I guess someone would have to if they actually beat you. Anyways, he wouldn't shut up about different fighting stances or whatever. It felt like another of _your_ conversations."

She pursed her lips side to side, "Yeah, but I wouldn't be that rude to someone I just beat."

Talvon's eyebrows raised, "So you're admitting that he _did_ beat you?"

"Of course not! I just meant—"

They were interrupted by the sickly sweet voice of Nisotsa, who came up behind them and waved a hand in their direction. She smiled broadly, and perhaps Revan was just exaggerating things in her mind but the girl had a weird edge to her. It turned her stomach, now _she_ and Malak could probably be friends.

"Hey guys, did you hear about Kavar?"

Talvon and Revan shared a glance before looking back to Nisotsa. Sure she was annoying, but Revan's interest was piqued, "No, why what's up with him?"

Probably happy that someone was paying attention to her, Nisotsa sat down next to Revan. "I heard that he's going to be taking on his first Padawan soon."

"You already have a Master," Talvon said, rather unenthusiastically, "And besides, it's not like he'd fall in love with you just because you'd spend so much time together." _Everybody_ knew that Nisotsa had a crush on Master Kavar, perhaps the only person unaware was Kavar himself.

"I know, I was just saying," she scoffed, "I'm a _Jedi_, I know we're not supposed to fall in love."

"But Nisotsa," Revan said carefully in the same sickly sweet voice, trying to keep her laughter in check, "he's _so_ dreamy. How can someone look at him and _not_ want to break every single rule?"

Nisotsa's smile turned into a short frown when she realized Revan was making fun of her, "We're not all disgusting pigs like you, Revan. Try to keep your lusts in check."

She stood quickly and turned away from them, not waiting for Revan's response. She was disappointed because she had come up with a perfect line in her head, but it fizzled soon after Nisotsa left. Her attention returned to her food as she mindlessly pushed it around her plate, smiling she said, "We're so mean."

Talvon made a face and tilted his head side to side, "Technically it's her fault for having such an obvious crush on one of the Masters. She had to expect _some_ teasing."

Revan nodded enthusiastically with a mouth full of food, swallowing she added, "Why did she say like me? I was just kidding, I mean I break a lot of rules, but I wouldn't break _that _one."

"It's just Nisotsa being Nisotsa," Talvon said with a shrug, "I wouldn't worry about it."

She nodded distantly as the thought carried on to a web of similar thoughts, "How crazy would it be if...you know, one of the Masters did get involved with their student?"

He scrunched up his nose, "Gross Rev, I'm eating breakfast here."

"And I'm being serious, could you imagine?"

"No I can't, and —oh hey your best friend is here," Talvon said, pointing his fork over her shoulder. She turned her head in that direction, only to see Malak filtering in among many other Padawans.

"Hey Mal!" Talvon called, causing Revan to shush him and push at his arm from across the table, "Malak! Come sit with us!"

The tattooed boy acknowledged Talvon, and once he gathered a large plate of food he came over, eyeing Revan carefully as he sat down. Talvon gave him a good-hearted pat on the back before standing up himself, "Actually I gotta run. Have fun, you two."

He didn't miss Revan's face as he left, and she made sure to make a mental note to hit him later. For now she turned to Malak, watching him as he looked at her, a small amount of petulance apparent on his face.

"Damn it, Talvon," she muttered under her breath.

His petulance became clearer as he frowned at her, "Do you always swear?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, I guess. Why?"

"It's offensive, and I'm pretty sure the Master's don't appreciate it."

She shrugged again, "I don't really care. They've yet to say anything about it."

They looked at each other in a disdainful silence for a few minutes. She tried to figure out how to broach the topic of showing him around the Enclave without upsetting him too greatly, though she didn't see why she should care.

"Well today is your lucky day," she started, "because I'm going to give you the best tour around here that Dantooine has to offer."

He surprised her then by smiling, it was a wide smile, and she couldn't help but notice the perfection in the way his teeth sat together. Subconsciously she ran her tongue over her canine teeth, which were just a bit crooked. She wasn't normally self-conscious about them but his teeth were so nice that she couldn't help but feel like he had some sort of advantage over her. Everything was a competition.

"Sounds fantastic," he said, though completely sarcastically. She made a face at him and made a point of dropping her fork onto her plate. He rolled his eyes slightly, "Was that necessary?"

"It was," she said with a defiant smile. His eyebrows furrowed and she watched as he helped himself to a few heaping forkfuls. She didn't know where he put all the food, seeing as he was about the same size as her and she could never eat that much.

"Look, I don't really want to do this either, but Vrook's making me. I swear this will be the quickest, thoroughest tour you will ever go on, for both of our sakes."

"Thanks," he said, though it looked like the words pained him to say aloud.

She smiled, "So, Malak, how have you been enjoying Dantooine so far?"

He made a face, "It's...good."

"Oh come _on_, you can't be a little more...descriptive? How is it compared to Coruscant?"

"It's different, I guess. It's easier to listen to the Force here," he said with a shrug.

"So why did you leave?"

He smiled then, and her eyes were drawn back to his teeth, "We're back to this again?"

She rolled her eyes, "Yes, now can you please just tell me?"

"I'm not even entirely sure why, my Master just told me we were going to continue my training on Dantooine."

"Who's your Master?" she asked.

"Master Zhar, who's yours?"

"Master Kae," she said with a smile, "Come on, let's walk." She pushed aside her plate and stood, and her prompting caused him to do the same. She led him into the halls, where they walked side by side. She had never given anyone a tour before, but she figured it couldn't be too hard.

"Where were you born?" she asked, rather innocently. And she was, she actually took an interest in other people and where they were from. She filed away the information carefully and used it later to talk to them about it.

"Quelii," he stated simply. She decided then that he probably wasn't going to elaborate on anything, he preconceived notions that they were enemies were skewing his perception of her, and though she still didn't like him either, she was willing to talk rather than walk in awkward silence.

"Quelii," she repeated softly and stuffed it into her memory to look up later. Perhaps there was some tradition there that had to do with the large tattoos on his scalp. "I'm from Deralia, though I don't really remember much about it. I hardly remember my family too, I was told I was taken at a very young age so I guess that makes sense. Do you remember yours?"

He seemed to be digesting what she had just told him, "My family?"

She nodded, "Oh, and the Council Chambers are through that door," she said pointing to the door on his left.

He looked briefly at it and then back to her, "We're not supposed to talk about our families."

"I don't see why not."

"Well," he started as he struggled for the right words, "Well we're Jedi. Family means attachments."

She frowned slightly as she looked over at him, but soon she had to suppress a smug smile when she realized up close that she was a hair taller than him. "Everyone has a family, I think it's ridiculous that we shouldn't even think about them. I understand preventing attachments, but that doesn't mean we're supposed to just forget they exist, right?"

"Do you insist on breaking every rule we have, because they're not that hard to follow," he said with a slight squint in his eye.

"Some of them are," she said softly, glancing over his shoulder. She motioned her head to the right, "training rooms are down this hall."

He nodded absentmindedly as they continued their walk in that direction, and she pondered why she was giving him a tour in the first place. It wasn't that hard to find your way around the Enclave, and he had already been there for a couple days. She chalked it up to Master Vrook trying to get them to hash things out in a nonviolent way. The man always knew more than he let on, though most of her friends thought the opposite.

"So what's Coruscant like?" she asked as she motioned him towards the door of the Enclave. They stepped outside into the early afternoon, it wasn't too hot but still radiated a gentle heat. She shielded her eyes to the sun overhead, and he did the same. There were plenty of Padawans milling about, but none of them seemed to pay any attention to the two walking alongside each other.

"You've never been?"

She shook her head, "I wish Master Kae would take me. She travels there a lot, but always alone. I guess she considers me too young or whatever to deal with matters there. I just hate being alone." Even as the words came out, she wished she could take them back. She hadn't meant to tell him so much, she hadn't told _anyone_ else that she felt abandoned by her Master at times.

He didn't look like he knew what to say, which made her feel worse. She quickly raked her mind for something to say to get them off the topic, "Out here we have plenty of grass," she said, slowing her pace as they stepped off of the concrete and onto the soft grass, "And beyond that is more grass, and beyond that is even _more_ grass. And can you guess what's beyond that?"

By the face he made, she assumed he didn't find her funny, which she was okay with as long as they were talking about something else.

"More grass?" he ventured.

She shook her head with a smile, "Nope. It's Garang, which is the capital of our lovely planet. It's a far walk, but I think it's worth it."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup," she said with a small sigh, "And besides, it's the most interesting place here, though I'm sure it probably doesn't compare to Coruscant."

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, I hardly left the Enclave there. The city was more trouble than it was worth."

A slightly uncomfortable quiet fell over them as they thought about it. She hadn't thought of the city as being a nuisance, though now the thought seemed obvious to her. The planet teemed with life, and she could imagine how much that would drown the Force in her. She glanced over at Malak a few times, and he didn't seem _as_ awful to her anymore. Perhaps she had been just as wrong in not giving him a chance.

He, however, apparently didn't feel the same. As they made eye contact, his eyes squinted at her tactlessly. She raised an eyebrow and motioned for them to head back to the Enclave. He followed her lead, which she counted as a point in her favor, as if they were competing at all times. She was winning.

She could nearly sense how uncomfortable he was, though his aura was hard to detect. If they were friends she would've asked how he was doing it, but she was sure that he'd probably be offended if she mentioned that he was hiding something from her. She figured she'd learn later, and though that did not satisfy her insatiable desire to learn that which she did not know, it would have to do for now.

"So," she began idly as they approached the easternmost door to the Enclave, "When are we going to fight again?"

He did a double take, "You're kidding, right?"

"Hell no, I want a _fair_ shot at beating you. You have to admit that was cheap."

"I don't have to admit anything."

She looked at him as if he were being completely irrational, which in her opinion, he was, "Oh come _on_."

"Fine, maybe, _maybe_ when your lip heals. But if I beat you again I don't want to hear you cry about it," he said, and maybe for the first time since she'd known him, he smiled. An actual smile too, it wasn't facetious or sarcastic, it was a genuine smile and she had to ignore the familiar tug at the corners of her lips.

"I wouldn't be upset if you actually beat me, but that was an accident and shouldn't count. If you actually _did_ beat me, which I doubt, I wouldn't even be that upset. I'd just want to figure out how to win next time. And don't worry, I'm already calculating how I would do just that."

His smile turned smug, as though she were admitting defeat. "You know, I haven't met anyone like you."

She laughed and shrugged her shoulders, it hadn't been the first time she'd heard it, "What can I say?"

He shrugged too and opened the door for the both of them, once inside he merely lifted a hand, "See you around," he said as he left.

Her eyebrows raised and she smiled at his strange behavior, "See ya," she said, though he was already walking away. She turned too and headed towards the archives, excited that she didn't completely miss her time there.


	3. Kae

"Come here, Padawan."

Revan's eyes lifted from her bowed head to the woman standing a few feet away from her. Master Kae was a beautiful woman, though her age was creeping in around her eyes and forehead. Revan made a few short strides over to her, kneeling with her back to her. Kae took Revan's loose strands of hair in her hands and began to weave them together.

"My Padawan, I need to have an important conversation with you."

Revan's eyes traced the familiar lines and shapes of Kae's quarters as her mind prepared to learn and understand whatever Kae would say to her, "How so?"

"Surely you've noticed by now, even with your fellow Padawans, we all have an affect on each other, just as we alone may create ripples in the Force."

"We may influence those around us."

"That is correct, but it is not as simple as that. We are all subject to the living Force, even those amongst the dark. We allow ourselves to be influenced by the Force, whether we draw from the light or dark does not matter, it is a thing of influence. Through us the Force works and influences others. But what is just one side of the Force and not the other?"

"Incomplete."

"You are very wise, my young one. There is wisdom in drawing from each side of the Force, remember that. I urge you not to take my words as though I wish you to learn the passion and hatred of the dark side, but that which it teaches. Many wise Jedi say that it is with fear that those in darkness draw strength, but it is a weakness. The Force is the absence of fear."

She finished the braid, and so Revan turned to face her, "What do you mean?"

"You must know your fear in order to let it go. Learn it, embrace it, and when you let go, that is when you truly know the Force. When you're able to give in, my Padawan, you are able to reach your full potential. And you, Revan have no limits to your potential. When I look at you, I see the Force shining with the light of a thousand suns, your imprint in the Force is stronger than any I have ever seen."

Revan smiled broadly, but bowed her head slightly, "Thank you, Master."

Kae's gentle smile turned very serious, "Do not let my words misguide you, Revan. I fear for you as well, I wish only the best for you, and I can only hope that my teachings will guide you as far as they can. I needed to tell you before, ah..."

The girl narrowed her eyes at her Master, "Are you leaving again?"

Kae only nodded, taking Revan by the shoulders, "I have matters to deal with, Padawan, but I promise I won't be long. You must know how I wish I could take you, but this I must attend to alone."

Revan swallowed roughly, the familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach returning. She watched as the woman let go of her and put her own white blonde hair into a braid.

"I wouldn't be able to leave if I had any other Padawan, you must understand that I trust in your abilities. Only you are able to handle the burden of continuing to learn on your own. You are capable, you are wise. I'll even get you some extra time in the archives."

Revan nodded, "Good luck with _that_, none of the other Masters seem to understand that I actually enjoy my time in there."

"We'll see," she said as she finished her braid, standing and motioning her to the door, "But I must prepare for my leave. Pay attention in your lessons, and don't forget, I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

It took a few shaky breaths for Revan to recover once she left her Master's quarters. She did well enough convincing herself that it didn't matter, that Kae was right when she said Revan was capable of learning on her own. And of course she had her regular lessons with the other Padawans, she'd be fine.

She caught sight of Talvon ahead of her in the hall, and thinking that perhaps he would take her mind off of everything clouding her thoughts, she called after him and half jogged to catch up.

He turned his head, and at the last moment she noticed Malak standing next to him. She bit her tongue in a quick moment of thought, there was no way she'd be able to defend herself from his bickering at the moment. He turned his his head along with Talvon, but she couldn't read any reaction from him.

"Hey," Talvon stated simply, though he squinted his eyes slightly when they made contact with hers.

She gave him a half smile, "What are you two up to?"

"Just got out of Vrook's class," he said, pointing his head towards Malak, "Did you know that Malak here is the only person I know that doesn't find him completely intolerable?"

She gave Malak an appraising look, "I can believe that."

"You _would_," Malak.

She shook her head as though she were dismissing him, causing him to bristle through his teeth. Talvon looked awkwardly between the two, shaking his head he said, "What are you up to?"

Revan shrugged, watching where she was going out of the corner of her eye, "I think I might go beat up some training droids." Then, as if realizing that was exactly what she needed at that exact moment, and that if she didn't go that second she might never go at all, she turned to them and nodded her head in a recognizable goodbye before she headed towards the training rooms.

She found an empty one not long after, and turned on the console, queuing up as many droids as she could. They came to life suddenly, and she pulled a vibroblade down from the wall. Turning to the droids, unaware of the destruction she was about to cause, she lifted her blade and went over the lightsaber forms in her head. They lifted their own dull weapons, which couldn't cause any serious damage but still hurt, and she went to work.

With each strike, each blow, she could feel her frustration leaving her. With each destroyed droid she could feel peace and serenity overcoming her as anger and fear left. Perhaps Kae was right, perhaps there had to be a balance there in order to achieve true strength in the Force.

Lost in her thoughts she left herself open on her right, allowing one droid to smack her square in the ribcage. She cried out, clutching her side with her offhand and striking the droid through the head with the other. Her chest heaved as she let the blade fall to her side, exhaustion cleansing her mind as easily as the frustration settled in. She closed her eyes, placing a hand over her forehead and rubbing her thumb across her eye.

She was too distracted to sense his presence, so when she turned to see Malak standing in the doorway, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

He didn't look sheepish or ashamed as she thought he would, rather she couldn't read what he was thinking, as though maybe he himself wasn't sure either. "Your legs are too far apart, you rely on speed instead of strength and your stance is slowing you down."

"I didn't ask for your advice," she snapped, "And I don't need it."

His face was smug as he motioned to where she was still holding her side, "Clearly you do."

She dropped her hand and moved over to the console to log herself out of the system. She looked over at him with annoyance when she realized he was still there, "Was there something you wanted? Or did you really just come here to criticize my technique."

"I was helping," he defended, "And no, that's not the reason I came here."

When he didn't elaborate, she tilted her head to the side and suppressed a sigh, "And that reason is...?"

He narrowed his eyes, "You're upset."

"Clearly."

He sighed then, "No, you're _upset_. I saw you for like two seconds in the hall and it was more than enough to know how you're feeling."

"Well aren't you perceptive."

"I was being serious."

She laughed then, realizing how she sounded, "No _I'm_ serious, that's impressive. No one's gotten a good read on me in a while."

He cracked a smile, "What can I say?"

She smiled at him, but it soon fell, "I'm okay Malak, I swear. I was just upset over something stupid, it doesn't matter."

He watched her carefully for a moment before nodding in agreement. It was a strange moment for them, one in which they weren't arguing or trying to talk but failing miserably. It was a normal moment, as if they were friends.

"So are you going close your stance?" He asked.

Her face turned smug, "No chance in hell, look I'm fine!" She patted her ribcage where the droid had hit her, and though it sent a shock of pain through her, she was able to keep her face straight.

He narrowed his eyes at her for just a brief moment before dismissing it. He took a step towards the door, "I'll see you at dinner?"

"Oh so you're sitting at our table now?"

He nodded, "Tavlon...uh said I could."

She laughed, "Talvon says a _lot _of things."

They fell into an awkward silence, trying to figure out how to dismiss the conversation and go their separate ways. They settled onto a small wave and a slightly contemptuous smile. As she left the training rooms, she didn't even realize that she didn't give a single thought to Master Kae.


	4. Competition

"How are we supposed to believe in something if we don't ask questions?" Revan asked pointedly.

"But we believe in the Force and the Code and all that, the things you don't _need_ to see. I think questioning them means you're doubting them."

She watched Malak for a long while, they had gotten out of their lessons at the same time and naturally they decided to walk to dinner together. She had no idea how this conversation started, but she found it interesting, plus she was always looking for an opportunity to stretch someone else's way of thinking. It was just Malak's turn.

"Alright, so you believe in the Code. Why?" she asked.

He turned his head away, watching where he was going, and finally turned back to her, "I don't know, because we're supposed to? It's like a universal truth for the Jedi."

She shook her head, "See, you know _what_ you believe in, but you don't know _why_, which is the most important part. If you don't know why you believe in something, how can you even really believe in it?"

He looked confused, but his expression disappeared as soon as they entered the cafeteria. Once they each gathered their food they headed to their table in the far corner, where Talvon and Cariaga were already seated.

Malak had been with them for about two weeks now, and she tried to avoid him since he criticized her fighting stance. However, that was hard to do once he started sitting at their table, and of course her outspoken nature in class had prompted him to ask her a different question every day and they argued for Force knew how long. But she liked the challenge, and she had a bit more free time especially since Kae had been gone the entire time.

He seemed to let it drop as they walked over to the table, but she wasn't giving up on their argument, not when she was so very close to winning. She turned to him as they walked, "So I ask you again, my dear friend Malak, how are we supposed to believe in something if we don't question what we believe?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, "I'm not saying you're wrong," he paused as they reached the table and sat across from each other. She cheered for herself within her own mind, but his mouth opened again in thought before he spoke, "I'm just saying that it _seems_ wrong. We've had the Code memorized since we were younglings, I just feel like it's wrong to question that."

Revan shook her head, "But that's precisely why we _should_ question it. With the Force, we've felt it, we've seen what it can do, but that doesn't mean we understand it, you know? That's why I'm always in the archives, I'm just...drawn to it, I feel like if I don't know something I'm automatically at a disadvantage."

He looked over at Talvon and Cariaga, who were giving them wary looks. They were both aware of Revan and Malak's strange relationship, and usually they stayed out of the conversation. Malak looked at them for only a moment before he turned his attention back to her, "That's why I'd rather be fighting. This whole greater understanding of the galaxy is beyond me."

She narrowed her eyes at him before assessing what he was really saying, "You care, and you're smarter than you're letting on. You just don't want to admit that I'm right."

"Is that all you care about?"

"Most of the time, yes," she said with a laugh, which prompted Talvon to laugh as well.

"It's true," he added, "And it's okay Malak, I've lost plenty of arguments to her. Plus, you guys have been arguing for the past week and—"

"More than that," she added in quickly.

Talvon rolled his eyes at her, "More than a week, and you've yet to win. Beating Revan just doesn't...happen." She nodded enthusiastically, but Malak didn't look amused.

"Speaking of which," Malak cut in, "After dinner I was going to head down to the training rooms. I heard you have the top time for the top level of droids, which I know I can beat." Of course she had the top time, where there was a competition, there was Revan. Even though their times were never officially recorded, the simple fact that they _were_ timed was enough to head up a certain competition amongst the Padawans.

She made a face, "No way, that took me _months_ to post."

"What? The prodigy didn't do it on her first try?"

"No, and I bet you don't either, those droids are nasty," she said, plopping her fork down onto her plate and leaning back, crossing her arms.

He squinted at her, "I bet I do."

"You won't."

"You know," Talvon butted in, "I think this could be an argument you could win."

Revan bristled through her teeth before giving Talvon _that_ look, "Alright, let's go Malak. Right now."

"I'm eating," he said with more than an edge of annoyance.

"And I don't care, you can't brag about how you're going to beat my time and not do anything about it."

"Fine."

She let out a small yell of joy and stood, coming around the table and pulling at his arm. He sighed and stood slowly, taking his time just to annoy her. Which it did, so she huffed and pulled at his arm harder while he laughed. She pouted at him, but he soon picked up the pace.

"You know," he said, "I've been sitting around all day, I'll have to stretch and prepare for this."

"Making excuses already?"

"Oh I know I can beat it without any preparation, I just want to make sure you won't ever, ever, _ever_ come close to my time."

She laughed, "Yeah _okay_, Malak."

He raised his eyebrows at her as they reached one of the training rooms, "Well we'll just have to see."

She was confident that he wouldn't beat her time. She had worked hard day after day, gone through numerous bruises and beatings just to get the top time. She spent way too much time obsessing over the droids and her speed, but to her it was worth it. In a lot of ways, though, she was hoping he _would_ beat it. Ever since that day she got the top time she hadn't spent much time training, only whenever she had to get her frustrations out. Perhaps if he _did_ beat it, even though it was a preposterous idea, she would have a reason to come back.

He stood at the console, logging himself into the system and preparing the droids. She took a seat along the side, and it wasn't until then did she worry for her record. With a few practice swings of the vibroblade he was holding, she could see where his speed and strength would come in. He wasn't muscular by any right, but she could tell he someday would be.

The second he sliced through the first droid, she knew he was going to crush her time. The speed and grace with which he moved was completely unexpected. When they fought, each swing at her had been strong but clumsy, and she was certain that if she hadn't split her lip open she would've beaten him. With an uneasy feeling in her stomach she realized he had gone easy on her two weeks ago when they fought.

She would've been upset, she would've yelled or walked away if it had been anyone else. There was something about this stupid boy in front of her that drew her to him. He was talented and smart, and he hungered for more knowledge just as she did, but he refused to acknowledge any of it. She wanted to bring it out of him, and she saw him as more of a challenge than anything else.

She did, however, have to swallow her pride and embarrassment that he was in fact going to best her time. She couldn't take her eyes off of each deadly swing, but she didn't want to watch any longer.

Which wasn't a problem, because he ran his blade through the last droid at that moment, turning to her with a sort of 'ta-da' expression.

"You're a damn liar, Malak," she said as she stood.

"Not by the way I see it, I think I just _killed_ your time."

"I don't even cared about that, I—" her words were lost as he looked at her, his face full of disbelief, "I swear I don't! What I do care about is the fact that you totally hustled me!"

He narrowed his eyes, his chest still heaving with the aftereffects of fighting off all the droids, "What are you talking about?"

"You were going to let me win, weren't you?"

His mouth opened slightly as he realized what she was talking about, "That's not fair," he muttered, "I was here for two days, I didn't need you to make a big deal about losing to me, not that that stopped you. I wasn't going to let you win, I was just going easy on you."

She squinted her eyes as she looked away, "That's pretty cheap." She sounded a lot more upset than she really was, and she could tell it affected him.

"Look Revan," he said, his voice slightly pleading, "You're smarter than me and I'm a better fighter than you. We don't have to hate each other _all_ the time."

"I don't hate you I just think you're dumb," she said, even though it wasn't entirely true.

"Fine," he said, though there was no edge of malcontent to his voice, "If I admit that I'm dumb can we call it even or something?"

She cracked a smile before kicking over a droid leg that was still standing on its own, "You don't have to say you're dumb, because you're not. You're just...frustrating."

"Oh, _I'm_ frustrating?" His voice had an edge of humor to it, as though he hoped she realized he wasn't being serious when he teased her.

She paused, looking at him appraisingly as if she really had to think about it long and hard, "If we call it even does that mean we have to stop fighting?"

"No," he said with a smile.

"Good," she settled on, "But I'm going to practice, and the next time we fight I'm going to kick your ass. So bring your A game, Mal."

"Oh, don't worry about me."

She took the vibroblade from his hand as he went to turn off the console, "I don't know, after last time I might have to."

Naturally they started to walk back to the cafeteria. Malak had hardly eaten anything and Revan didn't get to finish, so food was on both of their minds.

"Again, that's not fair," he defended, "How was I supposed to know you'd rip your face open? Which, by the way, is looking a lot better."

She absentmindedly brushed her fingers along her lower lip, which didn't hurt anymore. The swelling was down and the color was back to normal, the only thing remaining was a pinkish white line where the skin still had to mend.

"And," he said pointedly, "Can you imagine how embarrassing it would've been if I _had_ kicked your butt? I made you look good, I think I deserve a thank you."

She made a face and jabbed him lightly with her elbow, "You do not," she couldn't keep a laugh out of her voice, "So are you training to be a Guardian or do you just like hiding the fact that you're really good at fighting?"

"So you _do_ think I'm talented," he said as though he caught her embarrassing secret.

She rolled her eyes as they entered the cafeteria again, "Whatever, Malak, you know what I mean."

"No," he said, his face sobering, "I am training to be a Jedi Guardian. Zhar says I have the potential to be a very powerful Jedi."

Normally she would've been annoyed by him, but she could appreciate the certain cockiness apparent on his face. She didn't reply as they sat down at the table, where Talvon and Cariaga still sat.

"So how did he do?" Talvon asked her, as though he already knew the answer. The look on his face was smug, so she gave him a sour face.

"He beat my time," she muttered, though she was more playing up how upset she was. People expected certain reactions from her and she wasn't opposed to giving them what they wanted.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed more towards Cariaga than to anyone else. She merely rolled her eyes and kept quiet.

"Hey at least I was there to witness it," Revan cut in, "Unlike _some_ people who were too hungry to see it happen. No one's beating that time in _years_ and you missed it."

Talvon made a face, and she made one right back. He laughed before he went back to his food, which she was surprised was still there. The boy must've gone for seconds, since he was nearly done when they left, either that or he had been too busy talking to even eat, which happened more often than not.

Shaking her head her attention was drawn to Malak, who was focusing on his dinner. She couldn't help but notice a slightly prideful gleam in his eyes, and she wondered absentmindedly if it were because she had praised his abilities. She didn't mind though, even though he was better than her at some things, she was better than him with others. Sure it didn't have to be a competition all the time, but she liked it. No one had challenged her in a long time, and maybe Malak would be the one to finally give her a reason to go beyond the already high standards she had set.

She wasn't sure, all she knew was that she liked the cocky expression on his face, knowing exactly how he felt at that moment.


	5. Opened Eyes and Opened Minds

Revan sat quietly. It wasn't a usual occurrence, but there she sat, scrolling mindlessly through her blank datapad as she half-listened to Master Vrook drone on. She usually listened, rapt with the conversation and asking as many questions as she could, but she was tired from not being able to sleep the night before, and for once she didn't have the energy to be a complete pain in everyone's backside.

Her eyes lifted to try to pay attention to what Vrook was saying, but his voice was in a dead monotone and whatever he was in the middle of talking about, it was too late for her to jump in. Her eyes moved around to the other Padawans in the class. They found Talvon first, who was idling his time by lightly drumming his fingers in different patterns, raising his eyebrows and making faces at the table. Sometimes that boy could be so disrespectful, but she had to stifle a laugh as he made a particularly gruesome face.

He looked up and over at her and she had to look away to keep herself from laughing out loud. After several moments of staring at the table before her, she focused her attention on Cariaga, who was sitting respectfully, her eyes glued to Vrook and nodding every few moments after he said something that was apparently very interesting. Revan's gaze, however, was captured by Nisotsa sitting next to her, tracing something carefully in her datapad. Probably a love note to Master Kavar, who was leaving for Coruscant soon to choose his first Padawan. Despite her earlier refutations, Nisotsa was greatly disappointed at the news.

Revan scrunched her nose and turned her attention back to Vrook, who was looking at her oddly. Her eyes quirked for a moment, and usually she would've minded the fact that he was probably disappointed in her or something, but she was too tired to care. As soon as his eyes reverted back to the majority of the class, her eyes flew to the chronometer, which told her she had very few minutes left of class.

Near the chronometer sat Malak, whose eyes were actually closed. She didn't want to stare and make it obvious that he might be sleeping, but after a few quick glances in his direction, she concurred that he was definitely asleep. Luckily for him, he was out of Vrook's usual range of eye motion. She quickly made eye contact with Talvon, who was looking at her funny, and nodded her head towards Malak and suppressed a laugh. He turned quickly enough and looked back at her with a big grin on his face.

She smiled back before turning her head back down to the empty datapad. She probably should have filled it with notes by now, but they only had Vrook's class a few more times, and while she would miss the enlightening conversations with him, she agreed with the majority in that it was going to be great to be done. She fiddled with her datapad until he dismissed them, not waiting behind for any post class discussions or questions.

She stood and left with the majority of students, giving Malak a weak punch in the shoulder on her way out. She fell easily into step with Talvon, who huffed and sighed and complained about Vrook. She smiled in agreement, but couldn't really be bothered to listen. Instead she watched the floor's tiles below her and traced her fingers along the wall. The hypnotizing patterns lulled her into a haze and she lost her focus until Talvon pushed on her lightly. She turned her head to him with a confused expression.

"What?"

He gave her a funny look, "You okay there, Rev? Looks like you were zoning out on me there."

"When aren't I zoning out on you?" she asked with a laugh.

His face turned sour, "I don't know what you're talking about, I'm a very interesting person."

"Alright Talvon, keep believing that."

"Okay, so I might not argue with you all hours of the day like Malak, but at least I'm contributing to the conversation here, unlike you," he said with an indignant look.

"Sorry," she said with a shrug, "I'm just tired. You know me, I can't seem to burn off enough energy to sleep and then I'm tired for days." Her head swung around to look behind them

Noticing, Talvon followed her gaze, "Whatcha looking for Revvie?"

She cringed, "Revvie?" But her eyes continue to bounce behind them.

"Okay, so maybe not Revvie. But what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for Malak."

Talvon snorted, "He's probably still being lectured by Master Vrook."

"Probably," she said with a hint of a sigh in her voice, right before she caught sight of him and placed a firm hand on Talvon's shoulder, "But then again probably not—catch you later Talvon." She gave his shoulder a push as she turned around and headed in Malak's direction.

"Hey sleepyhead!" she called out before catching up and falling into step with him.

His only response was a glare until she raised her eyebrows questioningly, to which he grumbled "I got in trouble."

She laughed, "Look if I wasn't so talented, I'd be sleeping in class too. I was actually on my way to go meditate and I was wondering if you wanted to come with." She absentmindedly dug her hands in between the ties of her robe and her body.

"No thanks," he said lamely, "I'd fall asleep in a parasec."

"Not the way I do it."

His eyes narrowed and his mouth opened slightly before he finally asked, "Oh really?"

At that she beamed, "You maybe be all powerful and strong and all that _shavit_, but the Force singsto me."

His eyes remained narrow, but she could tell he was intrigued. She pulled her hands away from where they were fumbling with her robe and grabbed his upper arm, pulling him towards the door.

Once they were outside, she let go of his arm, concerned that he might not actually want to come with her. When he continued to walk alongside her, she had to hold back a smile. She didn't know why him being submissive pleased her so, but she picked up her pace slightly and shot him a challenging look.

His shoulders heaved, obviously too tired to deal with her antics but willing to follow whatever she was getting into. She hesitated before she broke off from the main path, leading them up a trail that was very familiar to her and very unfamiliar to most others.

She didn't know why she was showing him her favorite spot or pushing so hard to meditate with him, maybe it was because he wasn't instantly drawn to her like most others were and didn't fall for her antics or powers. Maybe it was because he was better than her at something and she needed to show him why it didn't compare to the things she knew.

The path soon broke free and she smiled at the sight of the cliff before them. It broke off abruptly, but what lay beyond it was, in her opinion, the best view in all of Dantooine. The golden sea of grass lay below them, smattered by blba trees and jagged rocks littered kathounds, quiet and sunning themselves amongst the rocks.

His expression changed at the sight, and he turned his head towards her, "You've been holding out on us, Rev."

She looked away for a moment, watching the sight below them, "Just a little," she said, smiling back at him.

She motioned for him to sit cross-legged across from her, and as she settled into the soft grass, she retreated within her own mind. She carried on as she usually did, looking for a thread of the Force to grab a hold of and pull herself into, but this time she sensed his presence and grabbed a hold of that too. She could feel his resistance at first before he accepted and relinquished control over his active thoughts.

She dug deeper into herself, searching for that familiar trace, the echo of the Force around her that could be so elusive, and yet so familiar and warm at the same time. She found it and tugged at it hard, opening her eyes immediately. The world before her seemed to have been set on fire, everything glowed and hummed with a silky smoothness. The grass danced in the light and everything was icily clear.

Malak's eyes were opened as well, and as he looked all around them he looked as though he didn't believe any of it were real, not for one moment. Hours could have passed, though minutes were more likely. They were so lost in the sights around them, time and energy was completely lost.

"Is this what it's like to take glitterstims?" he asked finally. She laughed then and felt her hold on the Force loosen slightly, bringing out the darker edges and shadows in the world around them.

"There's only one way to find out."

He paled slightly, and raised his eyebrows slightly, to which she sighed, letting go of her grip and letting the surrounding area fade back to normal, "By the Force, I'm joking."

He watched her warily for a moment before he cracked a smile, "Just making sure."

He looked as though he were going to say something else, probably about the experience that they just shared. She knew it couldn't have been anything he had seen or felt before, and that he was probably full of questions. Questions that she was ready to answer.

But they were interrupted. Quite terrifying, actually, the way that her Master appeared by their side and spoke unexpectedly. Kae had been back not even two days, and yet managed to hardly speak to her Padawan. Revan started to worry that maybe she had disappointed her in some way, but seeing her again was reassuring, if not terrifying.

"Master Kae," Revan said abruptly, giving Malak a pointed look before she gave her full attention to her Master. Kae looked down at the two of them, something different in her eyes, something Revan hadn't seen before. It was harder, maybe it could even be considered colder. She motioned for Revan to come with her, to which she obliged, giving Malak a small salute as she followed Kae down the path that led them there.

They walked in not quite companionable silence, between them an air of discomfort, though not entirely palpable. Revan walked just a step behind her as a sign of submission, unsure whether her Master was angry or just tired from her travels. Either way, she was not as open and warm as she usually was.

When it seemed they had walked far enough, Kae suddenly turned and faced Revan, "You have questions," she said quietly, though not as a question.

Revan nodded, "Yes Master."

"Ask, and I will answer."

Revan looked down at her hands, suddenly unsure whether or not it was an appropriate time to ask her anything, especially not that which she had on her mind. But looking up into Kae's clear eyes, she felt her...permission, and as though there was no way she couldn't ask.

"I want to look into the future," she said quietly, and before Kae could answer she added, "Like you do."

Kae remained unaffected, though her eyes glanced around them, "For one such as your youth and prowess, those abilities will come to you in time. Looking into the future is not an easy task, and it would harm more than it would ever help you. There are things we are not meant to see, and until those events come to pass, only then will you learn."

Revan felt a slight burn in her stomach, but kept her face calm. She nearly expected as much, but it left an opening for her real question, "Have you seen my future, Master?"

Kae let a small sigh escape her lips, "I am unable to confirm nor deny. You are wise my young one, you should realize that these are dangerous conversations."

"Dangerous?"

It had been a moment, just a small slip, but Revan caught it. For just a second there was an incredible sadness in Kae's face, the look in her eyes tearing at the very Force in her blood. She knew then that Kae had indeed seen her future, and it created a crater where her stomach should be. Revan couldn't speak, she had no thoughts or musings or anything witty to say as she usually did. She swallowed roughly, but Kae's expression returned to normal as quickly as it had slipped.

"Who was that boy with you?" she asked at last.

Revan shuffled for her eyebrows for a moment before she remembered meditating with Malak, "That's just Malak," she said as casually as she could manage.

"And why do you associate yourself with one such as him?"

Revan tilted her head for a moment, question obvious on her face, "He's my friend—I guess. He is just as the others to me."

Kae gestured for them to sit, and Revan came close to her side, watching her Master as she seemed to pick her words gently, "I suppose. Those you associate yourself with, Malak...and that other Padawan—"

"Talvon?"

"Yes Talvon, and all the others you consider your friends. Harm is not always done directly, I fear your fellow Padawans will soon hinder you and your progress. You must be wary, and at any point be willing to sacrifice anyone. Not one person is worth your destiny."

Revan bit the inside of her cheek before speaking, "Surely you can't mean that, Master."

Kae sighed and placed a hand on top of hers, "Surely I can, just as I expect you to be willing to sacrifice me. Experience is a valuable thing, and where I have lacked such experiences, I have learned terrible, terrible lessons."

She suppressed a stressed and perhaps frustrated sigh, trying to take in what her Master was telling her as well as she could, "Have you had to make such sacrifices?" she asked.

Kae's hand slipped away and disappeared into her robe, "Some, just as you or anyone else has. But I sense soon I will need to sacrifice _everything_," the weight of her words hung heavily in the air, and she turned away from Revan, "But I still tire from my trip and I must rest. Ponder my words, child, but do not take them at face value. Everything can be taken differently and your first interpretation may not always be correct."

She stood and left quickly, leaving Revan to stare at her disappearing form. She didn't even mask the disappointment and anger in her face, instead she wrapped her arms around the backs of her thighs and pressed her forehead to her knees.

Never in her life had she had such a...frustrating conversation with Kae. Things had always been relatively easy. Some lessons were very important—some intense—but nothing world shattering. Most of the time she felt like Kae was holding back on her, but now that she got a full dose, she wasn't sure she was ready for it.

Maybe it was because she was rapidly approaching fourteen, only a few precious years before she reached knighthood. And at her current pace, she'd reach it by eighteen. Maybe Kae was just looking out for her, preparing her as early as she could. Frowning at the thought, she heaved a heavy breath onto the fronts of her legs, closing her eyes as she realized she was still very much in public.

She lifted her head to check if anyone were around, but was pleased to find that there weren't. She leaned back until she lay flat against the ground and watched the setting sun, feeling nothing but the slight prickle of grass below her.

A familiar presence soon approached, and she sighed, for she just wanted a moment to herself, to perhaps sort out what exactly Kae had said to her. But before she knew it, Talvon kicked at her foot, "You missed dinner," he said casually before laying down next to her, turning his head so his cheek was flat against the grass.

"You okay?" he asked.

She smiled faintly, "I don't know."

That seemed to throw him for a loop. He wasn't the strongest or the wisest, but he had a knack with the Force. From time to time he would surprise her with Force tricks she wasn't aware of. He frowned, "Did you hear about Malak?"

She shook her head, frowning slightly as the dirt and grass matted against her hair.

"Him and Master Zhar are going back to Coruscant for like a month or something. He's not that excited because he travels all the time, but apparently Zhar has some diplomatic responsibilities there. We all know with Malak as his Padawan and his own strength as a Guardian that 'diplomatic' isn't going to last for very long," he said with an exaggerated laugh. She knew that someday his mouth would get him in trouble, but she was too drained to tell him so.

Revan bit her lip, "I can't remember ever leaving Dantooine," she said quietly.

Talvon was quiet for a long moment, and she could feel his eyes boring into the side of her head. "I know," he said quietly, in a moment of sullen understanding.

His words jumbled around in her head before she turned her face towards his, a smile playing on her lips, "Thanks, Tal."

"For what?"

"For clearing something up for me," she said as she stood. She looked down at him, confusion evident on his boyish features, and offered him a hand to help him up. He took it after a moment of hesitation, brushing off his robes once he was upright.

"You're weird, you know that, right?"

She laughed, "Of course."

But she wasn't weird, she just felt like she understood what Kae had been saying. Kae said that having friends would hinder her, that they would hold her back. But Talvon just proved that friends would be there for her. Friends understood, friends would have her back, not hold her back. Kae could be wrong, Revan realized with a faint smile, and perhaps that's what she wanted her to know.

"Come on," she said, motioning to the Enclave with her head, "I'm starving."


	6. Talvon

"Malak's dumb anyways, he didn't even say goodbye when he left," Revan grumbled, most of the words were lost as she breathed heavily. Her legs stood firm amongst the golden grass and her arms swung outwards, cutting her vibroblade through the warm, clear air.

But Talvon heard her, sitting cross legged not too far from her and watching her practice her forms. "It's been weeks Rev, you're just jealous," he said with more than an edge of exasperation.

"My personal feelings have nothing to do with anything...despite how stupid I think it is," she stopped her motions shortly, dropping her blade by her side and pressing her palms together, "I'm a Jedi, inner peace and harmony is my calling," she said with a bow.

Talvon tried to keep a straight face, but he ended up laughing, so much so that he made obnoxious snorts and had to fight to keep himself composed. When he finally caught his breath and her annoyance, he sat up a bit straighter and said, "That's the last thing I would consider you. Rev. I'm going to be honest with you here, you were born to rip people's heads off. And then probably lecture them about something stupid like Selkath or Mandaborians."

"Mandalorians."

"What?"

She sighed with a laugh, bending to pick up her vibroblade, "They're called Manda_lorians_, and they're very fierce warriors, even their women are raised to fight alongside th—"

"Oh gods, here we go again."

She laughed more wholeheartedly this time, resuming her practice stances, "Hey," she called out behind her, "watch it, or I might have to replace you as my best friend."

She could feel his eyes on her, round and a bit naive, "And who might you be replacing me with?"

Revan thought about it as she extended her arm as far as it would go, "Cariaga?"

"She doesn't talk enough to keep up with you," he answered a little too quickly, and then as an afterthought, "Or keep you out of trouble."

"It's sounding better all the time," she said, giving him a quick glance and giggling at the look on his face, "Alright. Hmm, Nisotsa?"

She didn't have to look at him to know he was frowning, "Why don't you consider that for a nanosecond and tell me?"

"Alright, alright, you don't have to be mean about it. Who else...Xaset?"

"Who?"

Revan paused her fluid motions to make use hand gestures to try and help identify Xaset, "That kid...you know, he hangs out with us every once in awhile. He's good with droids and stuff...I think."

Talvon raised his eyebrows, "Him? Come on Revan, real suggestions only."

"Well this is hard when I don't like that many people. I don't know, Malak?"

"I thought he was dumb."

Revan smiled, "Dumb enough to ignore us when we so kindly allowed him into our group, but he _is_ the only one around here with a shred of talent."

Talvon rolled his eyes, "Besides you of course."

"Don't forget it," she beamed.

He shook his head, but he was smiling, "You and Malak would just get on each other's nerves all the time. You'd drive each other mad before you ever did anything conducive to society."

"Fine. Who would you suggest as your replacement then?"

"No one," he said, standing and brushing his hands on the front of his robes, "Because clearly I'm the best option for that role."

"Careful," she mused, raising of her chin, "that kind of confidence will put you straight on the path of the dark side."

"Then you must be a Sith Lord by now."

Her mouth opened in mock shock, "Hey, you shouldn't talk like that to people holding weapons."

His face mimicked hers, "You're starting to sound like one too! Should I go alert the Council about this potential threat?"

"You wouldn't dare," she teased. He gave her a stern look and before she knew it, he took off in the direction of the Enclave.

Her voice carried across the plains as she dropped her blade and ran after him. He was fast, but she was determined, and both cut a path through the tall golden grass. She didn't take her eyes off of him and it wasn't long before she tackled him to the ground.

She sat gracefully on his back as he tried to wiggle free from her weight. She laughed, but didn't budge. "What do you have to say to me?" she asked.

He stopped squirming, and with a loud, exaggerated sigh, "I'm sorry."

"Good boy," she said, and stood. He rolled onto his back and looked up at her.

"You really are evil."

"Maybe you'll consider that next time before you act out of line," she said, lowering a hand to help him up. He made a face before he took it and stood next to her, still standing about an inch below her.

"You hungry?" he asked, motioning his head back towards the Enclave.

She nodded, "Just let me go find my vibroblade."

Retracing back the path of her mad dash, she retrieved her sword and hacked at the grass on their way back to the enclave. He chattered mindlessly and she listened, mostly because she had just kicked his ass and did feel _a bit _sorry. But he moved on as he always had, used to it for a long time now—

His chatter was interrupted by the incredible Nisotsa, her arm raised, motioning them towards her. Revan let out a small snort before glancing at Talvon, who smiled and walked towards the waving girl.

Nisotsa beamed and Revan was already dreading the conversation. Any interaction with Nisotsa was an unpleasant one and both girls were fully aware of their relationship. It didn't bother Revan that Nisotsa didn't like her, frankly she would have had a bigger problem if Nisotsa _did_ like her.

"Talvon," she said when they finally reached her, "I was wondering when our Masters were planning on telling us what to pack. I've been going through my room and I just can't seem to decide on anything," she said with a deliberate glance at Revan.

Revan's fists clenched and unclenched quietly. She was baiting her, but as much as Revan wanted to ask, she refused to say a word, refused to let question or a frown be expressed. She instead bit at the corner of her lip, glancing over at Talvon who had a rather strange look on his face.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "Pack whatever you want, it's not that hard."

Revan let out a short laugh, but refused to let it go any further. Nisotsa seemed to be restraining herself from rolling her eyes, but instead kept her gaze locked on Talvon, "Won't you help me?"

"Can I eat first?" Talvon said as plainly and obviously as a young teenage boy can. Revan smiled at him but Nisotsa narrowed her eyes before muttering an okay and walking away.

Once the girl was out of sight, Revan turned to Talvon, "You didn't tell me you and Nisotsa were running away together!"

"Ha-ha, Revan, very funny. Our Masters are teaming up to go to Taris for a few months and of course they have to take _both_ of their Padawans."

Revan laughed again, "That fracking sucks, I am so sorry."

"Yeah, well," he shrugged, "What can you do?"

They carried on into the Enclave, Talvon was a perfect gentleman and opened the door for her, which she smiled at in his attempt to be nice for once.

"So why are you going to Taris?" Revan asked as they made their way through the halls.

"Do you really expect me to remember stuff like that?"

"Yes, actually," she laughed, "It's probably a good idea to keep track of your life for once. You won't have me to do that for you on Taris."

"How will I ever manage?" he said as he rolled his eyes.

She pursed her lips together, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I figured you'd take it badly,"

"And am I?"

He watched her for a moment before shaking his head, "Not like I expected."

"Force, Tal. I may be pretty out there and all, but it's not like I'm some hot-headed egomaniac that's jealous whenever people get nice things...even when _I_ don't."

He merely raised his eyebrows and tilted his head in that smug way, as if to say, "Oh really?"

She frowned, but turned it into her best puppy-dog face, "I know we're sturdy and upstanding Jedi, but I'll _miss_ you," she said in a baby voice, knowing it would irritate him. She threw her arms around him and snuggled him up like the little pup he was.

"Yuck, get off me," he said, though he wasn't serious and she just grinned more.

"Nope," she cheered, taking a quick step for momentum and jumped onto his back, "Not until we get to the cafe, I'm starving."

He tried to adjust her, wrapping his arms under her legs and shifting uncomfortably. She was bigger than him and he was trying to stay stable under her weight, "Fine," he muttered, "but you're carrying me back."

"Deal, just don't eat too much or you'll be too heavy."

He stopped walking for just a moment, "Frack off, I can eat as much as I want."

"But you don't exercise enough, Tal. You'll gain a million pounds and you won't fit into your robes, and do you know how hard it is to be too fat for your robes?"

"Of course I do, I take cues from your ego all the time."

She snorted, "You're lucky you're bringing me to food right now or your face would be outside in the dirt right now."

"Is that a threat?" he said as he heaved her body up and to the side a bit, nearly knocking her off his back.

"I swear to the Force, if you drop me," she managed with the tightening of her arms around his neck.

"Well don't choke me!" he cried out.

She laughed and tightened her grip, "Like this?" He could only cough a sputter for a moment and make loud noises of disapproval until she let go, which she did quickly. No use for him if he was dead, though the thought that she could've easily just killed him was not lost on her.

But her conscious thoughts were ripped from her head when Talvon let go of her legs, letting her awkwardly find her purchase against the floor of the Enclave. She was about to yell at him when he bowed and she could see before him stood Master Vrook.

Talvon jammed his elbow into her side quickly when he rose. She gave him a quick look before acknowledging Vrook, "Good afternoon, Master," she said with a quick bow of her own.

"I trust you two are up to no good," the _as usual_ was missing from the end of his sentence, but his normal drawl was enough to imply it.

"No, Master. And I promise if we were it would all be Revan's fault," Talvon said quickly and she turned her head to gape at him before giving him a threatening smile. He feigned a frightened look for a moment before Vrook cut in.

"As I'm sure she would," he said with an actual smirk, moving around them and muttering under his breath as he continued down the hall.

"You're an ass!" Revan exclaimed, nudging her elbow into Talvon's side just as hard as he did to her.

He laughed, dodging another jab, "I thought you were going to miss me?"

"Yeah, I'll miss you like I miss those gizka that got into the training rooms last year."

"How sweet," he said, throwing his arms around just as she did earlier.

She sighed and tried to shake him off, "Watch, Vrook's going to come back and I'm going to be the one that gets in trouble."

"Yeah right, you can talk your way out of anything," he claimed, letting her scramble out of his grasp.

She merely rolled her eyes and brushed him off. He watched her for a moment before his eyes carried off and looked around them, "Are you still hungry?" he asked.

"Very," she said with the motioning of her head towards the cafeteria.

She would've been fine walking in the quietness of the halls, but Talvon continued to chatter on as they made their way to the cafeteria together. She smiled at his stories and his exclamations, appreciating his careful exaggerations. He was silly and wonderful, but she couldn't help missing him already.

But she didn't know that things would never be quite the same once he left. By the time he would return, their friendship would feel different. Not entirely, but enough to alter the fate of the galaxy. Because Talvon was leaving, and Malak was returning.


	7. The Rule of Two

Simply put, Revan was bored. Without the presence of Talvon, one which she had grown extremely accustomed to, she realized that she didn't actually have much to do. Even her favorite things like practicing her stances or studying in the archives seemed boring and useless, even though she never did these things with him anyways.

She didn't cry when he left. There was no reason to. Yes she would miss him and yes the degree of which she would be alone was suffocating and crushing at best, or at least as she dramatized it, but he would return, and there was no reason to cry about good things for other people. If good things could be entirely considered what he was doing. Months alone with two Jedi Masters and Nisotsa was probably one of Revan's nightmares. Talvon probably missed life on Dantooine more than she missed him.

She didn't keep track as to how long it had actually been since he left, mostly due to Kae's urging to forget about her friends and focus for once in her life. As if Revan needed focus. She was fully capable of doing above and beyond anything the other Padawans were capable of and still have a thousand things on her mind. But she wasn't entirely an ungrateful Padawan who didn't listen to her Master, so she decided not to track how long Talvon had been gone.

It hadn't necessarily been the absolute worst few weeks of her life. Just...boring. Her birthday had passed in silence, which was quite disappointing. Or rather she was disappointed in herself. Fourteen years spent alive and all she had to show for it was becoming a Padawan a few years earlier than her peers. What she really wanted was to go out and live, not be trapped by the inner workings of the Jedi. It was like they were suffocating any and all ambition out of her before they let her leave, as if her mind was allowed to roam free she would do something radical. No, she just wanted to _live. _

If Talvon were there he would tell her she was being ridiculous and conspiratorial, that nothing was stopping her from leaving the Jedi. But she didn't want to leave the Order, she just wanted to put her talents to use. Malak seemingly got to do it all the time and no one had a problem with it. Kae would probably tell her not to change her freethinking nature and just stick it out, which at the moment was all she could do.

She sighed as she glanced around her, the breeze that picked up every few moments tossed her hair around her shoulders. She was sitting along the cool ferrocrete outside the Enclave, the harsh contrast with the grass was an eyesore, and though she hated it, she continued to sit there. Maybe there was an underlying truth in misery loves company. A crack along the ferrocrete, so out of place and very uncommon, caught her eyes. It stood out against the smoothness of the Enclave and a few blades of grass peeped through. She smiled at the resilient grass; nature would always find a way.

It was just frustrating how everyone else seemed to be doing _something_ while Revan was left to rot on Dantooine. Her Master, who upon returning from her last trip had become more withdrawn, seemed to speak only when necessary and made frequent visits to all sorts of Republic military bases. She spoke only when something seemed so prevalent that it absolutely had to be said. It drew Revan in every time, the slight part of her mouth when something was on her mind, as if her lips chose whether or not to utter the words asking to come out.

But she kept her eyes glued to the crack along the ferrocrete, as if she were to look away it would disappear immediately. But such was the way with humans, even the smallest flaw made all the difference in the world. She liked the reminder of human failure, and she'd be damned if someone fixed it.

But just as she was contemplating this, a rather large shadow passed over it, remaining there until she lifted her eyes to greet it. She looked up immediately, surprised to find Malak standing before her. His expectant gaze met hers and she squinted her eyes.

"When did you get back?"

On the defensive already, he narrowed his eyes and took a seat next to her, "Yesterday."

Revan smiled more to herself than to him, he had been gone for about two months (though she wasn't keeping track at _all_) and already his voice was deeper. She considered pointing it out for the sake of embarrassing him, but decided to go the less awkward route, having to look up at him instead of being on eye level, "You got taller."

"Maybe you got shorter."

She laughed, "That doesn't make sense. Tell me, my dear friend Malak, why have you sought me out?"

His face, though serious in the first place, turned more serious as he regarded her a bit closer, "I was on Coruscant, right, and things seemed...weird," he paused to frown at her, for she was smiling a real quiet smile. Perhaps it was the lack of her part-best-friend-part-security-blanket the past few weeks, but the way Malak leaned in and spoke in hushed excitement was actually...endearing.

"Weird how?"

He gave her a careful look before continuing, "I was meditating with Zhar, like we usually do, and it wasn't the same—"

She gave a frustrated sigh when he seemed to lose his words that he had planned in his head, "The same as what?"

He looked like he hated to admit it, and simply by reading his face she knew was he was going to say. She had to refrain a wide smile, wanting him to admit it himself. But he was quick to catch her train of thought and rolled his eyes, and then with a bit of exaggeration, "The same as with you."

"I knew it!" she beamed with a quick wave of her fists in all directions in the air.

He rolled his eyes again, "You don't have to be obnoxious about it."

"I think I do," she said with an even broader smile. It was good to have someone to beat up on again, "And if you roll your eyes again I swear they'll fall out."

"Well that's a pleasant thought," he said, keeping his eyes glued to hers in a certain steadiness that made her laugh again. He brought his palms down on his thighs before standing, saying, "I'm glad we had this lovely conversation."

"Wait," she said, standing as well, a bit thrown off by only coming up to his shoulder instead of standing eye level, "You wouldn't just tell me you missed me for nothing, why did you really come find me?"

"I never said I missed you," he said as his fingertips brushed the back of his neck in irritation, "I was just saying you ruined meditation for me with your psycho techniques."

"Oh so I ruined it for you? Are you telling me that if I offered right now you wouldn't come meditate with me?"

"I don't know," he said with a frustrated huff, "I was just saying," as his voice trailed off he looked around them awkwardly before seemingly forcing himself to meet her gaze.

"You liked it," she said smugly, "You don't have to deny it."

He seemed to refrain from rolling his eyes, "Okay, whatever Revan, I'll see you around."

"Wait," she interrupted once more, "Do you want to fight?"

"What?"

"You said we could fight again once my lip healed and, well...ta-da!" She made sure to puff out her lip, raising her head with pride.

He frowned a little, his eyes lingering on her lip, "It scarred."

She shrugged her shoulders, suddenly a bit uncomfortable under his gaze, "I don't care."

"We don't need to fight again," he said, his eyes flicking up to meet hers.

"And why is that?"

He smiled a devious, quiet smile, "Well we both know who would win."

"If you're referring to me, then yes you're correct."

He pursed his lips in thought before sitting back down next to her, "How about a staring contest instead?"

"A staring contest? How old are we?"

He frowned, "Well I don't know about you, but I'm mature enough to handle a staring contest. It's easier than actually fighting."

"Easier? We have our blades right inside the training room like twenty feet away."

"But that requires standing and walking and I'm tired. This is a competition that requires not moving."

She laughed, "You sound like Talvon."

Malak pouted, but only for a moment before quirking his head to the left, "Where is Talvon anyways? He's always somewhere around you."

"Taris," she said with a slight shrug of her shoulders, "Him and Nisotsa."

Malak snorted loudly, his face alight with disbelief, "Well that's gotta be fun."

"Oh I know," Revan said with a small smile, then appraised Malak for a moment, "It's always good to find someone who dislikes Nisotsa as much as I do."

"You're joking, right?" Malak said, turning his attention to the grass in the distance where a kath hound was circling a blba tree. Revan turned her attention too, but Malak looked back at her, "I've only been here for a few months, about two of which were spent back on Coruscant, and I'm still fairly certain that she's gotten on everyone's nerves."

Revan chuckled, "Her fault, right?"

"Of course."

She sighed then, sure that the kath hound in the distance keeping his peace amongst the locals. She turned back to Malak, "So how about that staring contest?"

He smiled then, a genuine smile which she wasn't entirely used to. Most time spent with Malak was spent arguing and being entirely facetious, so most of his smiles were mocking.

He turned to face her, and she the same, but before she would engage in such a staring contest, she had to ask, "Rules?"

He looked away for a moment in thought, "Rule one, no using the Force, obviously—"

"Obviously."

He glanced back at her with a smile, "And all else is fair game."

"You're going to regret that when you lose," she said, throwing on the smuggest smile she could manage.

"Oh I don't think so."

And then, as if a silent bell had gone off, they were intensely staring into each others eyes. Malak's were usually more narrow, but as he tried to keep them open they were wide and dear. They were grey; _grey eyes._

She wasn't going to lose, that she was sure of. She wasn't going to lose and she wasn't going to cheat. She knew that she could use the Force without him knowing, and she knew that she could probably tickle him and cause him to blink, but she wanted a fair game and she figured he probably felt the same.

But as her eyes began to dry out, she could feel the Force around the two of them, begging to come in and flow between them. Even as they both blocked it out for the sake of their staring contest, she could feel it ripping at the edges of her mind, distracting her far more than the sting of her eyes beginning to water.

He seemed to feel it too, his head subconsciously quirking to the right as he tried to focus. She smiled a grim smile as she continued to stare.

"How about we stop on the count of three?"

"I'm game."

But as she counted to three both of them remained locked on each others eyes, wide and intense, but both had to try not to laugh in an effort to focus.

"For real this time?" she asked.

"Okay," he said, and she could see his smile in her peripheral vision.

"Now!"

They both stopped then, looking away to blink as much as they could. Revan had to wipe the tears that built up in her eyes, turning away from Malak awkwardly.

He waited for her to compose herself in the lazy quiet of the afternoon. She couldn't remember the last time she had participated in a staring contest, but she was fairly certain that her eyes hadn't overflowed with tears then.

"I'm not crying," she said, trying to laugh it off. Her cheeks dried but she could still feel the tears in the way her eyelashes met every time she blinked.

"I know."

There was something in his kind blatancy that took her focus off of the lessening sting of her eyes and put it back on him. The second they looked at each other there was an understanding that something was most definitely working between them. The Force sang out and she could feel his understanding in his gaze, words remained unspoken as they both sat quietly, listening to the hum of the Force around them.

She had never felt something so odd, so powerful. Something that was clearly speaking to them, nearly palpable as it surrounded them. She slowly began to nod as a smile crept onto her face.

"I can roll with this," she spoke evenly, not giving way to the absolute amount of joy of the Force filling her chest. Malak seemed to be feeling the same, he raised his eyebrows but his lips fell into a broad smile.

"Me too."


	8. When the Rain Comes

What Malak found interesting about Revan was how they never seemed to be on the same page. Just as she seemed to filter in and out of everyone's lives, she would would share some sort of mind altering experience with him and then not speak to him for days. Malak had come to accept that aspect as something anyone would have to experience when dealing with her. All those except for Talvon, he supposed, who wasn't there but whose presence was still known just by talking to her. She sure had her quirks, but Talvon put up with all of them and Malak didn't know how he managed.

Because she was rough. It wasn't just her knotted hair and cocky smile, but the way she saw through people. She would laugh for too long and talk too loud, but she didn't miss a thing. Her eyes were too sharp and her mind too calculating. Her hands were rough and calloused, and the scars that she had already amassed spoke mostly of who she was: she liked to fight.

But those thoughts were beginning to distract him, and Malak pushed her from his mind in order to focus on the Twi'lek before him. The alien hardly spoke a lick of basic, but that didn't stop them from playing pazaak together. Besides, he was still able to communicate his displeasure at losing to Malak. Multiple times.

It was raining and the sound echoed through the common areas of the Enclave, mirroring the consistent chatter of the Padawans inside. Those who were escaping the light downpour that reduced their activities to that of the indoors milled in and out of the common areas, bored and merely waiting for the weather to clear. Malak was among them, the multiple games of pazaak beginning to get to him as the rain continued to pitter-patter against the windows, but he figured he might as well finish up the hand before finding something else to do.

Of course that was when Revan walked through the door alone. She wasn't any less or more intimidating by herself, she simply was who she was. She eyed him from her entry point of the room, glancing over at him once, then twice, then finally picking her way through the Padawans strewn across the room. Her hand rested on the table in front of the Twi'lek as she bent down to speak to him in whatever his native language was.

The Twi'lek looked up at her and then to his cards before he handed them to Revan and lifted himself from the chair, standing to the side. Revan, of course, sat down in his stead with a smug grin. Malak watched her for a few moments as she pressed her lips together, her brows furrowing as she righted the cards in her hands. He reminded himself that she only liked to compete with him, he was basically her only competition. If they were friends, he'd just be a placeholder until Talvon got back and Force knew he didn't want that. But he wasn't opposed to a few rounds of friendly pazaak, as friendly as she was.

Clearing his throat, he glanced at the Twi'lek now sitting at the side of the table, watching the two with interest. When he turned back to Revan he asked, "When did you learn to speak...whatever that was?"

Her eyes lifted from the cards in her hands to meet his, but instead of speaking she merely shrugged with a lazy smile on her face. It was mocking him, that was for sure.

He pursed his lips to the side, "And you just decided to interrupt our game?"

"Yep," Revan glanced at the Twi'lek, "You needed some fiercer competition."

He wasn't sure if their new friend understood, but at the easy grin on the alien's face, he supposed not. Malak glanced back at his cards, "I think you just like to compete."

She shrugged again, "Can't deny that."

He shuffled the cards mindlessly in his hands, watching her face carefully. She took a deep breath, squinting her eyes slightly and after a lackadaisical glance at her cards, she met his gaze, folding her cards in front of her. The small shift in her demeanor showed all of her tells, and her voice flittered out, "Well how about a little challenge?"

His poker face, or lack thereof, broke into a smile, "Can't say I didn't see that one coming."

"The Force is a funny thing, Malak—Mal? Can I call you Mal?"

"Doesn't matter, you'd do it anyway."

"Again, can't deny that."

He folded his cards in front of him as well, "So how interesting are we going to make it?"

Revan's eyes traced the room around them, her mind clearly at work. They flicked to the window, and then back to meet his, "Go outside in the rain?"

He shook his head, knowing she had planned this long before she proposed it, but he still smiled, "It's awfully cold out, you sure about this?"

"I think you should be asking yourself that."

He raised a brow, "Fine. Loser goes outside."

Her smile was sly as she returned her gaze to the cards in her hand. They both flipped, him at ten, her at nine. When she flipped again, landing on nineteen, he was certain that she was going to stand. She bit at the corner of her lip, considering her next move as she stared at the cards before her. She glanced back up at Malak, shaking her head with the slightest smile.

She was a cocky little bugger, wasn't she? He took a quick deep breath before flipping an eight, bringing his total to eighteen. He considered going for it, but the odds of her hitting twenty weren't that great. So he stood, finding himself genuinely anxious as she flipped her next card. A five. She leaned back in her seat, taking the cards in her hand into genuine consideration. It was only then that Malak realized there were a few gathered around them, watching.

Malak wasn't sure if she was cheating or if she really was that lucky, but she pulled a single card out of her hand, leaning forward and placing it on the table between them. Her gaze was deadly as her lips broke into a cocky grin.

"Sorry, Mal, looks like you're going to get a bit wet."

His eyes narrowed and broke her gaze, there was no need to look at the card that she now held out for all to see. He glanced around them, their fellow Padawans shrugging off Revan's arrogant victory, though the Twi'lek looked rather smug as he sized up Malak.

Not as smug as Revan though, as she nodded towards the door, "Have fun."

"You're terrible," he muttered, knowing neither of them believed he meant it. She watched him carefully though, when he stood without making any faces or complaining any further. He wondered absently if she didn't think he'd actually do it. Malak stood before the door, raising his shoulders as he took a deep breath. He twisted to give her a quick salute before heading outside.

The wind hit him first, it whipped at his face as the rain quickly soaked through his robes. It took a matter of seconds for him to be completely drenched as he jogged out into the open.. The outstanding cold bit through him, seemingly straight to his bones, forcing him to wonder why it wasn't actually snowing instead. He blankly realized then that he had no idea if it even snowed on Dantooine.

Ever aware that he had an audience, especially that of Revan, he waved his arms around and spun, acting as though the supreme chill running through him was insignificant. He had no idea what he was actually supposed to be doing, but he still felt like he had to prove a point.

Revan opened the door a crack, just enough to be seen. She had to shout as her words struggled to carry over the rain, "You can come back in now."

He shook his head, at this point completely drenched and the level to which he cared dwindled into nothing. Instead he came towards the door and wrapped a hand around her wrist, pulling her out as well.

"Oh no you don't," she leaned all her weight back to try and escape the rain. Her efforts were in vain, however, as Malak leaned in and wrapped his arms around her, easily scooping her up and carrying her out into the pouring rain.

She cried out, but she was laughing as she kicked her legs until he put her down. Her hair clung to her face as she looked up at him, squinting in the rain, "You're an ass!"

He couldn't help but laugh at the stupid smile on her face, "That's what you get for cheating."

Revan shook her head, but her smile was shaking as her teeth began to chatter, "I swear I didn't! You can't blame me for being good at pazaak."

"I think I can."

She shook her head before she took a side step towards the door, "Whatever, can we go back inside?"

Revan looked a bit helpless, the way she stood there. Her sleeves were pulled taut around her wrists, her arms hanging by her sides as she watched him, blinking away the rain and pulling her wet hair out of her eyes.

He nodded, "Yeah. It's freezing out here, what are you, crazy? Why would you come out here?"

She pressed her lips together, a smile tugging at the corners as she looked away. She crossed her arms then and headed for the door, Malak followed.

It was a stupid idea. The intermittent chills that ran through him were enough to prove that. Revan didn't look much better as she picked her way through the room, her arms wrapped around her own waist and her hair and robes dripping absolutely everywhere. It felt awful too, to return to a nice warm room and having cold, wet robes cling to his skin. He just wanted to take a warm shower and forget that this ever happened.

They had to ignore everyone's stares, too, which might've been worse. They left the room as quickly as they could, making their way into the hall where they were safe from the prying glances. Revan put up a hand to stop him as they rounded the corner.

"What?"

Her face was serious as she took just one step closer, "We don't mention this to anyone."

One corner of his lip frowned in response, "Everyone back there knows."

"I don't care about them. Look, I don't have the best track record around here and as of the moment I can't afford the Masters finding out."

"Have you ever considered, you know, _following the rules_?"

"No."

"Well alright then, I guess that settles that. You have my word."

She took a step back, her lips forming an easy smile, "Good."


	9. Let It In

_This can't be happening._

Revan groaned the moment she woke up. Her head pounded wildly in her ears, and as she lifted herself off the pillow the room began to spin. It was a matter of seconds before she realized that she couldn't breathe out of her nose, nor could she completely focus her eyes. Then there was the realization that she was sick and the immediate shrugging it off as though it weren't happening.

A day prior she merely had a sore throat, and the day before that she had gone out in the freezing rain with Malak.

She was going to kill him.

She propped herself up on her elbows, swallowing roughly and trying to make the room stop spinning. It didn't, but she was able to focus enough to get her bearings. She pried herself from the bed, the cool air raising gooseflesh on her arms. Her head and neck were hot, but the overall chills won out, and so she pulled her heaviest outer robe close around her body. Steadying herself against the wall, she took a few deep breaths and prepared herself for the halls.

The fact that she was starving was an impossibly hopeful sign as she made her way slowly to the cafe. Even though she had to focus in order to see straight, she was determined to make there and somehow kill Malak along the way.

He wasn't hard to spot amongst everyone else, he was growing at an alarming rate. Revan considered herself tall, or at least she was taller than everyone she usually spent time with, especially Talvon, who she would tease about it to no end. But somehow Malak had gone from Talvon sized to standing nearly a head taller than her, and that was weird.

He was talking to Cariaga, who was usually too quiet for Revan. She was as if peace had embodied itself and created the nicest human being possible. Which was great and all, and even though Revan couldn't be bothered with peace or serenity, she liked having her around.

She approached them, catching Malak's gaze as he sized her up. He smiled at her, his eyes clearly confused. "What on earth are you wearing? Are you planning a trip to Hoth?"

"Funny." Her voice was nearly shot, but she forced it out. Malak's face immediately soured but Cariaga at least had the decency to look concerned.

"Are you sick?" her voice was soft, and if Revan's head didn't hurt so much she would've snuggled the girl up because she was too cute.

But the question still loomed and she was still mad at Malak, "No."

He shook his head, "Looks like _someone_ can't handle the rain."

"It's your fault, jerk."

Her crankiness seemed to have an effect on him, or perhaps it was the scornful look that Cariaga threw at him, but his features softened and he sighed, "Will you at least visit the healers or does that go against your whole, 'not telling anyone' thing?"

"No, it's not a big deal. Give me a day, I'll be fine."

Neither of them looked certain for a short, awkward moment, but finally Malak spoke up, "At least go back to bed."

"No, I just need to eat something."

He stood, "Let Cariaga worry about that, I'll walk you back to your room."

"I told you I'm fine," but as she spoke the words the pounding in her head became overwhelming and she had to close her eyes to war against the building ache.

Malak looked concerned as he reached down to help her up. Cariaga merely smiled at the two as he stood close to her, making sure she could indeed walk in a straight line. They meandered the halls, and more than once she had to lean on him as her head got to be too much and she couldn't focus, needing just a moment to collect herself.

He was surprisingly gracious about it all, supporting her with a calming patience. He probably just felt bad (which he should've), but at least he wasn't irritating her, and for the moment that was all she really cared about.

When they got to her door he opened it for her, letting her go in alone but watching to make sure that she got tucked in alright.

"I don't need you to take care of me," she groaned. She meant it, as nice as he was being (at the moment), she didn't want any special treatment or watchful eyes. She had done well enough on her own so far, having been sick before and merely sleeping it off. She would've rather lay unconscious on the hallway floor than need anything from anyone else.

He eyed her suspiciously from his position under the doorframe, "You do, actually. You may not want it but you need it."

Revan tried to think of a response, she tried to tell him that she'd been fine on her own before and she knew she could've proved herself right if her voice wasn't shot and her head wasn't pounding, and she most definitely could've if her pillow wasn't so soft and the only way to calm her head wasn't closing her eyes.

The next time she opened them she saw Cariaga walking away from her, going back to Malak who was still in the doorway. They spotted her awake and and watched as Revan managed prop herself up. She looking over to see a plate of food left on her nightstand with a glass of water next to it. She looked to her friends, wishing she had the energy to laugh at how ridiculous this all was. "Can you at least come in all the way? You're making me nervous standing in the doorway like that."

The two obliged, Cariaga taking a step forward, "How are you feeling?"

After a quick self prognosis, Revan nodded, "Better than ever."

She didn't expect that either of them would believe her, but it was better than admitting that she felt like bantha fodder. She reached over and took the glass of water on her night table and downed it in a few long gulps. Her throat was still raw and all she wanted wanted to sleep for a few weeks and wake up forgetting how absolutely miserable it was to be sick.

Cariaga frowned for a moment, "I'm sorry Rev, I wish I could stay and help take care of you, but I have to get to a lesson," she turned to Malak then, her small features concerned, "I trust you can take care of her?"

"I think I can manage."

Revan threw her head back onto the pillow, though she immediately regretted it, "I don't need 'taking care of'.'"

She watched Cariaga and Malak share a look before the girl exited the room. And then it was just her and Malak alone in her bedroom and she had the vague feeling that this situation was the making of a very strange dream. He looked around her room, seemingly searching for something to say or do.

"You don't have to stay, you know," she said, covering her forehead with a hand, "I told you I'll be fine."

He shifted his weight below him, "I don't doubt you'll be fine, it's not like I'm expecting you to drop dead or anything. I just...feel bad."

"As you should."

He rolled his eyes before he let out a breath, "Anything I can get you?"

She shook her head, the thought of sitting up and eating was revolting at best, and she just wanted to sink down into her blankets and drift back to sleep. And when he didn't say anything further she found her eyes closing again.

It was the kind of listless sleep that provided nothing but agitation and passed time. There was no rest, no contentment as she tossed and turned, opening her eyes only when she was curious as to whether or not Malak was still there.

He was, of course, sitting in the chair flanking her bed, his eyes scanning a datapad in his hands. It was such an odd experience, just all of it, and as odd as it was it was also sweet. She had to wonder absentmindedly if Talvon would do the same. He probably wouldn't because he was a little snot, and at the moment she thought that she would've rather had his carelessness. But maybe, just _maybe_, somewhere in the back of her mind she was grateful to have someone who seemed to care.

This time she was awake enough to turn her head towards him, and sensing her consciousness, Malak looked up. He gave her a half-hearted smile, "Anything I can get you now?"

"Just go back to reading, Mal." Her head may have been pounding, but it didn't compare to the rawness of her throat, scratching at her as she spoke. Her brows pushed together, and she buried her head further into the pillow, all she wanted was to sleep for hours and hours and hours and it just didn't seem to be happening.

It was too frustrating so she gave up for them moment and managed to sit up. Malak let the datapad drop onto the night table and came over to her, sitting on the edge of her bed. She tilted her head and scooted over a bit. He rolled his eyes but grabbed the plate and put it in her lap.

"Eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"You won't get better if you don't eat."

"No."

"You're being childish."

She crossed her arms, an _I don't care_ poised at the tip of her tongue. They were caught in a stare down, she knew he was right but she didn't want to admit it, but the problem was that she didn't _want_ to like Malak. He didn't fit in her compartmentalized way of looking at life and that bothered her. She set him in a role that she had clearly misjudged. He was supposed to be her competition, just some boy that was capable of challenging her. Every conversation between them had the potential to be a competition and she liked that. She wasn't even mad anymore that he got her sick because it was really her fault for competing with him in the first place.

But now he seemed to care, and that was too much for her at the moment. She tried to blame it on the fact that Talvon was missing from her life at the moment, but the truth was that she liked Malak.

So naturally she had to get rid of him.

"Can you just go?" she asked, her voice sounding weak and pathetic. There was no faith behind her words and she couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"Why?"

"Because I told y—"

"No," his voice was tight, "Don't tell me you don't need help. You're sick, and when you're sick it sucks to be alone. And it's my fault so I'm making it my priority to make sure you get better, especially considering you won't see any healers."

"Fine, maybe I need help, but I don't _want _it."

His hard gaze broke into a mischievous smile, "Well if you want me to leave you're gonna have to make me."

She huffed and sighed, but in the end there was only the realization that there was nothing she could do about him. So she glanced back down at the plate before her, her body begging her to eat something but her mind refusing to let him gain any ground.

But in the end, she knew he was right and eating was best for her health, so she went for it, trying not to glance back up at him. When she did she regretted it, because he looked too satisfied as he leaned back, crossing his arms. At this point, however, her head pounded too much for her to care. Or at least that was how she justified it.

He stood then and returned to the chair, picking up the datapad that he'd placed there earlier, "Get some more rest after you finish."

"Okay, Doctor Malak."

She could tell he was holding back a smile, "When you were sleeping earlier I went and found some very old and very suckish holovids that we can watch when you can see straight."

Revan set the now empty plate back on the night table and pulled all of her blankets up and around her shoulders, for the moment giving up on everything and allowing herself to rest, "That sounds nice."


	10. Paying Attention

_A/N. Just a quick little note to say that I don't own anything to do with Balto. I'm still not sure how he managed to sneak in there, but boy he's in there alright. Oh, Balto._

* * *

Malak was serious about the holovids. When her head finally stopped pounding he led her to the cheap communal holoscreen, seeing as the Jedi couldn't afford a holoprojector or perhaps they wanted their Padawans to pay attention to their lessons, it didn't make sense for them to purchase anything for entertainment purposes. But he'd collected an array of holovids that the Jedi stowed away and proceeded to watch them with her.

He was also serious about how terrible they were. At first she had just slept through them, she'd wake up in the middle and have to have Malak explain what was going on, but once her cold moved from her head to her chest, where it settled into a full bodied cough, she was able to pay more attention. She could see his concern in her peripheral vision nearly everytime she coughed, but she continually reminded him that she'd be fine. It was just a matter of time now.

She'd given up on trying dissuade Malak from spending time with her. It just seemed inevitable at this point that he would be around, and besides, Kae was away and it was easy for her to skip out on the rest of her lessons. Malak would get all of his done in the morning and have the rest of the afternoon to join her.

Which he was now, his gaze fixated on the holoscreen; unamused. They were watching a particularly brutal holovid featuring talking akk-dogs who apparently knew how to pull a sleigh. And if that didn't seem impossible enough already, they were also braving the harsh winters of Hoth. But Revan supposed that for the purpose of entertaining children, all logic was thrown out the window.

"Ugly things, aren't they?" Malak said offhandedly. She found that he often made small comments throughout the holovids, which she found genuinely amusing. Most people preferred silence in order to pay attention, but Revan liked being able to just talk through the whole thing. She usually had too much energy to sit still anyways.

"Akk-dogs?"

He nodded, "A bit generous calling them dogs, don't you think?"

She chuckled to herself, but her thick lungs made it sound about twenty times louder than it should've been. It happened nearly every time she laughed, the irritation leading to a full force cough that lasted a frustrating amount of time.

When she took a couple minutes to cough, Malak gave her a look, "Some of us are trying to pay attention here."

She coughed purposely at him, smiling when he flinched back. She shook her head, "I think you would've caught it by now."

And it was true, the fact alone that he'd frozen to death with her and didn't get sick was probably enough to know he'd be fine, but since he'd been spending so much time with her it was only natural to assume that he formed some sort of immunization to it. The same couldn't be said for Cariaga, though, who had been with the healers since she first helped take care of Revan.

"Is that why you're hanging around me?" he asked, "Because you can't get me sick?"

"It might have something to do with the fact that you don't leave."

He laughed, "And so the ugly truth comes out, admit it, you like me."

"Yeah, no. And shut up, you're missing key plot points here, that akk-dog nearly fell into an ice crevasse." She gave him a pointed look, but he didn't go back to watching.

Instead he returned the look, "Well maybe I could pay attention if _someone_ wasn't coughing her lungs up."

"Hey—better than lying comatose in bed."

"True, I mean_ of course_ I'd rather have you coughing all over me."

She half-sighed, half-laughed, smiling when it didn't turn into a coughing fit, "I told you, you're not going to get sick."

"It's still gross," he settled on, and then he shushed her, "I need to know what happens to Bolto here."

"Balto."

"Hm?"

"It's Balto, you said Bolto."

He sighed, "Does it matter?"

"Principally, yes. In accordance to the movie, not really, no."

"Then _why_?"

She laughed, coughing into her elbow instead of at him. Once she stopped she shrugged, "I don't know, you said it wrong and I had to correct you."

"Is that something you usually do, because I might have to find someone else to watch the rest with." He motioned to the table next to the holoscreen where the rest of the discs remained, seemingly waiting for Revan and Malak to watch them.

"Everyone else is too busy."

"I don't know, I heard Cariaga doesn't have much to do."

She held back her laugh, "Well why aren't you helping her, Doctor Malak?"

"Because, my dear patient Revan, she actually has enough sense to see the healers."

"I think you just like me more," she said, her mouth forming a cocky smile, "But I mean, who wouldn't? I'm obviously the best."

He let out a sharp laugh, then glanced over at her, shaking his head, "You're such a tool."

It was one of the things she appreciated most about Malak, how he could insult her and still seem as though he cared more than anything. She knew he didn't mean it, or at least she was pretty positive he didn't, either way it didn't matter. She wouldn't have been offended if he meant it, of course she would have to fight him, but she planned to already so any way it worked out she was good.

So she pouted at him, but he gave her a quick smile before turning his attention back to the movie. Revan still had a hard time paying attention to whatever happened to dear Balto, but being with Malak was one of the only things that kept her sane throughout her cold, and she was glad for it. She looked over at him, his gaze was fixed on the screen as the brave and ever-enduring Balto continued the journey on his own.

"You're not paying attention."

"I know."

He finally looked over at her, "Did you want to stop?"

She smiled, "But then how would we know what happens?"

"Put our hope in happy endings?"

She shook her head, "No, I need to know."

"Revan, we've been talking through the whole thing anyway."

"I don't care."

Determined as he had been over the past few days, he paused the movie. "Rev, you haven't even been watching."

"Just play the damn movie," she exclaimed. She tried her best to hide the smile on her face as she reached for the remote in his hands.

He passed it into his other hand and lifted it out of her reach, "No."

"Malak!"

"Nope."

Revan huffed and got up from her spot on the couch, crawling over him to reach his raised arm. He laughed, but lifted it even higher, using his other arm to hold her back. "Careful, you're going to use all your energy and then you won't get better."

She looked down at him, a bit surprised by the proximity of their faces. "Frack it, right? We need to know what happens to Balto," she said as her knee hit his stomach, causing him to exhale a heavy breath, but instead of giving up the remote like she had hoped, his arm knocked her back to her seat.

Once she recovered she crossed her arms, "I'm not leaving until we finish the movie."

"Looks like you're going to be here for a while then."

"You've been paying more attention than me, Mal. Don't you care?"

His smile was as arrogant as any of hers would be, "It's a movie made for children, Rev. I don't think they could make it any more obvious as to how it ends, unless of course you haven't been paying attention."

"Before this past week I can't remember the last time I watched a holovid, so you know, put the damn movie on play before I have to threaten you."

He gave her a serious look, though she knew there was a smile behind it, "Rev, you're at like an eight right now, I need you at least down to a two."

She took a deep breath, ignoring the desire to cough and letting the air linger in her lungs for a moment before softly letting it out. "Malak," she said in her calmest voice, "I just want to finish the movie."

"So how many vids have you seen? Please tell me you've at least seen The Manka King."

Revan laughed in exasperation, coughing with each exhale, "No I don't think I have, and at the moment I'm concerned as to whether or not I'll see Balto."

"Well you're missing out. Thank the Force that I'm here to show you the way."

"You know what I'm missing out on right now?"

He was way too amused by all of this. Force, she didn't think Talvon even gained this much joy from teasing her, but she settled on the idea that she'd better defend herself if she wasn't still sick. He feigned innocence, "No, what?"

"Balto. It's Balto. I need to know what happens to _Balto_."

He smiled, "You didn't ask nicely."

"Please?"

His smile was triumphant, "Okay, since you're so polite and didn't threaten to kill me at all, which I think might be a first for you, we can finally finish Balto. You know, I'm excited for you to see the end considering you haven't been paying any attention."

"Are you—nope, just," she shook her head, "Just play the movie."

And play the movie he did. Revan watched as dear, dear Balto seemingly saved Hoth and all the people dependent on him. They all fawned over the disgusting and what should have been vicious akk-dog, praising all of his _wondrous_ qualities. He had survived the storm and he had persevered through what seemed the most impossible of tasks for an akk-dog to accomplish. He could even talk.

Malak didn't make anymore comments, nor did he really say anything at all, which was just a little disappointing. It was never until they stopped arguing that she realized how much she liked it, and while the warmth of Balto's heroics was great, she really just wanted to argue with him some more. But then the credits flashed and five words appeared on the screen.

She immediately turned towards Malak, her expression blank surprise, "Based on a true story?"

He smiled and nodded, "Looks like."

She pressed her lips together, "You're fresh, you know that, right? What happened to my kind doctor?"

"I thought you didn't need his help," he said with the simple shake of his head, "And besides, these holovids are the best kind of medicine. Seeing as you haven't seen any of these, or at least slept through most of them, you're essentially an alien to our generation's entertainment influence. It's clear that you need help."

She raised her brows in confusion, "And how many do we have to watch?"

"All of them."

"All of them?"

"Well, at least the good ones."

She smiled, "Fine."

Oh Malak, she didn't quite know what she'd be doing if he'd stayed on Coruscant. She certainly wouldn't be sick, but she felt as though she'd miss something about this interim from her normal life. She was happy with where she was, even if she didn't particularly enjoy the holovids or how her lungs burned with each breath; for the moment it was all that mattered.


	11. An Invitation

Revan was sleeping, the little bugger that she was. She actually managed to fall asleep during one of Malak's favorite holovids and the insult was ever-enduring. To be fair though, since her health had returned completely, their holovid affair was reduced to late nights after dinner and it got to be quite difficult to make it to the end of the movie. It didn't help that Master Kae was back and seemingly had an insufferable disdain for Malak; she made sure the poor girl was busy throughout the whole day.

But otherwise, operation introduce-Revan-to-pop-culture was off to a great start. She had enjoyed The Manka King to no end, even if she had to deny that she cried when the sad little manka's father died. And though she complained about most plots and their loopholes, it was easy to see that she was fascinated by the complex and moral driven characters that often starred in such vids. Perhaps it was their tenacity or their inspirational views on life, but they touched her in a way that Malak didn't think he'd ever really understand.

Tonight was surprisingly the first time she fell asleep during a holovid. She usually came close or complained about how tired she was, but it wasn't until now that she was out: eyes closed, body tucked up beside him on the couch, he could even hear her steady breathing. He waited for the movie to end before he gently shook her shoulder, cringing because waking someone up was one of the most guilt-inducing activities he could think of. He let go, watching to see if it was enough to wake her up. It wasn't. Of course.

So he went for her shoulder again, shaking her a little rougher than before. This time she shifted away from him but not without opening her eyes and realizing where she was.

"How long was I out?" was the first thing she asked.

Malak shrugged, there was really no way for him to know exactly when she'd fallen asleep, "What was the last thing you remember?"

Her palm ran along her jaw before her fingers rubbed at one eye, "I don't even know, I remember the beginning, and then there was something about Trandoshans, but the rest is just a bit hazy. I'm sorry I slept, I know you really liked that one too."

"It's no big deal," Malak settled on, he didn't blame her because he was tired too, "Are you ready to go to bed?"

She nodded, stretching out her arms before standing. Malak turned off the holoscreen and joined her as they followed their seemingly nightly routine. It'd been a few weeks now that they would walk through the empty halls, silent except for the occasional hushed voice or refresher run. Revan would trace her fingertips along the walls and he would never fail to be mesmerized by the elegant arcs that she would draw. It was nice compared to their usual chatter or arguments, which were fun in themselves but not at this time of night. The quiet was necessary and it was calming.

They would go to her room first, where they would stand just for a moment outside her door, giving each other a small smile that said enough. Then she would slip inside and the tiles would disappear under Malak's long strides, leading him back to his room. It was a nice routine, one that was better than the usual, either studying or meditating before bed. It was more calming than both and Revan had made mention of it several times throughout the past few weeks.

Of course she hadn't gone any easier on him since Balto, nor did he, but spending time together after such long days made it easier not to get on each other's nerves. But even as boisterous as she was, he could tell that she wasn't fully allowing herself to let go and Malak suspected that she still felt some sort of loyalty to Talvon that was preventing her from doing so. That was for Revan to decide, whatever ties she had was up to her, and who knew what would happen when the boy came back. It wasn't any of Malak's business what was going on with her personally. For all he knew she was just doing him a favor by watching the holovids with her (even though he knew she liked spending time with him).

And so in the morning he continued as he usually did, getting ready for the day quickly and meandering the busy halls that led him to the cafeteria. When he saw her she was sitting closer to the window than usual, but he supposed that wasn't odd for her and so he went over to her. She saw him as he approached her, setting aside her food as he sat down across from her.

"New seat?" he asked.

She shrugged in response, "Gotta switch it up every now and then, right?"

"Seems so."

"Anyways," she said with a quick smile. Already her eyes were alight and the words nearly fell out of her mouth, causing Malak's interest to pique substantially, "I was thinking—"

"Oh really?"

She shook her head, but was still smiling, "Shut up, I was just wondering, well..."

It was perhaps one of the first times that Revan didn't seem to have her words together. She sat for a moment, seemingly figuring out exactly how to phrase it, and somehow this didn't make Malak nervous. The fact that whatever she had to say had to be considered before saying it was already more interesting than the usual words she let fly. So he didn't push her, merely waiting for her to figure it out on her own.

"As you know," she began, "Garang is the capital city of Dantooine and well, every year they have sort of a celebration...thing. I don't know, a lot of the farmers go and they have fireworks and it's a lot of fun. Anyways, every year Talvon and I go."

"And?"

She sighed, "Well, seeing as he's off spending quality time with Nisotsa on Taris, I was wondering if you'd like to come with me instead."

He considered for just a moment, narrowing his eyes, "What's the catch?"

"No catch," she said quickly, "It's just that we...may have to sneak out to get there."

"You're joking, right?"

"Come on Mal, I swear it's easiest thing in the world! I bet they even _want_ us to sneak out."

He shook his head, "And how do you justify that?"

"Easy—how are we supposed to learn if we don't go out and experience life? We're supposed to develop as Jedi and as human beings and we need to see things for ourselves. Some solid life experience would do us well and I don't think the Council can fault us for that. Besides, it's not like we'll get caught."

It seemed like one of those moral choices that he was taught way back when he was younger and on Coruscant. Sure he wanted to go, but it was essentially breaking the rules and putting them in a potentially dangerous situation. Not that he expected any danger from any of the settlers on Dantooine, but it was still night nonetheless and nothing good happened at night out in the world.

But even as he prepared himself to say no, he saw the excitement in her eyes, the hope playing on the small smile on her face. He really did want to go, it just wasn't a good idea. This was Revan, though, and this was something she obviously looked forward to and since Talvon wasn't there...

"Okay," he heard himself say, "I'll go."

"Really?"

He nodded, "Yeah, it sounds like fun."

"Awesome! Just go about your day as normal and then tonight we'll go out instead of watching any holovids."

"Sounds like a weak plan."

"I told you, it's easy," she said with the shake of her head, "And I've done this before. Talvon and I have never been caught and I promise we won't either."

He watched her with raised eyebrows, "If you say so."

"Trust me."

And trust her he did, but he still couldn't stop thinking about it through the whole day. Hours passed in agony as the anxiety lurked in the back of his mind. Twice he dropped the datapads he was supposed to be levitating during meditation, earning a confused look from Master Zhar. Later in his lessons his knee wouldn't stop bobbing up and down in anticipation. He couldn't tell if he was excited or nervous.

He was mostly excited due to actually doing something interesting outside of the Academy for once, but also nervous because he'd never done anything daring before. He realized as he considered it throughout the day that this was what it would be like to be Revan's friend. He'd heard stories before he met her, of all the things she'd done. He just never thought that he'd be involved. But it meant something that she'd invited him instead of anyone else, granted she would've gone with Talvon if he was there, but the fact that Malak was next in line meant something. _Right?_

It _was_ exciting, he convinced himself, and it would be even more exciting when they got to Garang, which he'd never been to before. So despite his reservations he followed her into the dark, taking one more look back at the lit Enclave before looking forward into darkness.

Revan had a smile that was seen only by the light of the stars, surrounding her with a well known glow that was both familiar and comforting to her. She looked beside her to the ever-nervous Malak, trying to pretend that he wasn't. It was interesting, at least to her, how he could overpower the desire to follow the rules even though it was clearly instilled in him. She herself had never been one to, especially with a Master like Kae, who nearly encouraged her to do so.

"Relax," she said. She watched the soft grass disappear below her feet, lost to the well worn path that led to Garang.

"I'm fine," he insisted, though his glance over at her made it clear that he wasn't entirely.

She offered him an encouraging smile, "Don't worry, you will be fine once we get there. And even if we_ do_ get caught, which we won't, I'll take the blame."

"I thought you couldn't afford the Council finding out anything else."

"I think it's been enough time," she said with a shrug, and somehow this prompted Malak to laugh. It was an all encompassing laugh that easily filled the air and made her smile. It felt good to be with someone, and though she was going to stay home this year, she was glad she was going with Malak.

As their laughter died out she took a deep breath, the air was warm, a stark comparison to when they went out in the rain those few weeks ago. It was a perfect night, the clear sky was conducive for fireworks and it was warm enough for her to wear her lightest robes, which were her favorites to wear. It made it easier to move and fight and she felt ready for anything.

And she was ready for the night, despite Malak's reservations, she knew it would be a good night. So when they got to Garang she didn't quite notice that they'd caught the attention of a particular man. A man who recognized one of them immediately but couldn't figure how just yet.


	12. A Reason to Celebrate

_A/N. The poem Revan recites is actually a Sanskrit Proverb, I didn't write it. Not even a little bit! And hey, if you've made it this far, thanks for reading :)_

* * *

A festival of lights surrounded them, illuminating the happiness of the people from different towns and villages, who shouted and moved quickly through the open area of Garang. Revan enjoyed watching these people, those who were physically close but still knew very little about the Jedi. They were beautiful in their own way, with their tanned faces and their strength evident from their hard work and dedication to the farms and plains that covered the planet. Tonight was their night, and Revan loved being apart of it.

Malak seemed to enjoy himself too, as they played games and ate food that was supposedly terrible for them but still much better than whatever it was that the Jedi served. There was no purpose for these treats other than to enjoy them, there were no proteins or added vitamins to aid their growth and make them healthier; stronger. It was well worth the wait, for the long year to pass in order to enjoy everything about the celebration.

It soon became a competition, as all other occasions in their life were. Who could throw the hardest or toss the furthest. It was much different than the other boys and girls there together, who would hold hands and laugh at each other's jokes. The girls would stand by and watch as the boys would try to win the biggest prize, if only to win the girl. And then they would all laugh some more, apparently being in a relationship made one extremely funny. No, Revan just wanted to beat Malak at everything and he felt the same. They would glance at each other whenever they walked by a particularly difficult looking game, thinking that by some destiny they were meant to play.

And it was_ fun_. It wasn't like playing pazaak or watching holovids, which is really all they did since becoming friends. It was a night that marked some sort of significance to each of them, in which they realized that even if they took turns beating each other, they would still be happy and that life outside of the Order wasn't as scary as it should be. Well, Revan already knew this, having been here with Talvon before, but somehow it made more sense now, and she was _happy_.

All of that changed though, the moment a man, simple by any means, approached him. There was nothing wrong with him. Nothing, at least, that was obvious. He was dressed in plain clothes and his demeanor was calm, friendly. She couldn't sense any darkness within him, but there was something she couldn't figure out as he approached them. His gaze was fixed on Malak, looking as though he'd seen a ghost.

"I'm sorry to bother you two," he said, his tone was polite, even if he did seem uncomfortable interrupting them.

The two near-Jedi merely looked at him with expectant gazes, Malak's a bit perturbed under the man's stare. Revan didn't like this, not one bit.

"I just had to ask," he continued, looking directly at Malak, "Are you from Quelii?"

This wasn't good.

Malak nodded, "I was born there, but I haven't been in years."

The man smiled at the two of them and it was then that Revan decided that she didn't like him. It wasn't genuine, it was a forced smile that one would give only to feign happiness. It was an odd thing to see, in the middle of live music and crowds passing by, as if he didn't fit in and just happened to stumble upon Garang.

"I know your family," he said, "Your father had the same tattoos on his head, and I know they gave up a son to the Jedi."

This_ really_ wasn't good.

"My family?" Malak repeated, "I haven't seen them since the last time I was on Quelii."

The man's polite smile quickly turned into remorse, "Then I suppose you don't know about your parents."

Revan sucked in her breath; this was getting worse by the second. Jedi weren't supposed to contact their families, they were supposed to break that connection in order to focus on their training, to understand the purpose of letting go of attachments. She just wanted to leave, but they were rapidly approaching a precipice in which they wouldn't be able to go back. .

She looked over at Malak, whose face darkened, his brows furrowing as he seemed to consider whether or not to press forward with this conversation. "My parents?" he asked, his voice noticeably more quiet.

A loud crack split through the sky, startling the three of them. Revan looked up to see the most untimely fireworks light the night air as the three of them stood in a triangle next to one of the prize tables, which now looked pathetic in such a different state of mind.

"I shouldn't even be saying this," the man was looking up at the fireworks, "I'm sorry kid, your parents have been missing since the last raid on Squinquargesimus."

"What do you mean, missing?"

"I really shouldn't have said anything, it's just—it's not looking good._ Stars_, you look just like him," he muttered, "I should go, really."

Revan's gaze was stern as she watched the man fumble with his pockets, as if such a menial task took importance at a time like this. While Malak's features had turned gaunt and he took a step back, the man was still shoving his hands into those damn pockets. "Just go," she said, her voice was harsh and the man quickly got the message, leaving quickly. He took one look back, appearing entirely sorry.

She turned her attention to Malak, who was looking at the prizes hung around them on big displays. Moments ago they were exciting, and the prospect of who was going to get the bigger prize was an enthusiastic argument, even though they couldn't own any possessions, nor did they necessarily want them.

"We don't have to—" she began, but he cut her off.

"Do you want to watch the fireworks?" he asked. He sounded the same but there was something awfully different about him.

Revan hesitated to nod, but did so anyway, leading him to the fields outside the city town where many people had already set up blankets and turned their attention to the sky. Revan hadn't bothered bringing anything, so the two settled into the grass.

It suddenly seemed so hard to focus, as her thoughts crashed through her mind and faded much like the fireworks above her. She couldn't watch them knowing it was her fault that Malak heard the news, that if it wasn't for her they'd be tucked up on the couch watching a lame holovid. Which wasn't as bad as she always made it seem.

If she hadn't pushed, if she had followed the rules for once, then maybe Malak would've been safe from this knowledge. He wouldn't have had to know. That stupid, stupid man's words repeated in her mind; she couldn't even imagine what Malak was feeling at that moment.

She looked over at him, brows knit together as she watched him. His gaze was fixed on the sky, and as the lights reflected in his eyes she could see the confusion, she could see the hurt that was trying to get through.

"You aren't paying attention," he said without looking at her, his voice was as calm as it had been at any other time, and his lips almost formed a smile as he said it.

Her voice was distant as she turned her attention to the fireworks, "No, I guess I'm not."

Guilt nipped at her stomach as she watched the explosions. She didn't have the energy to cheer along with the rest of the crowd. Malak was quiet as well, and there was only so much she could watch before she had the feeling that if she did not leave at that absolute moment, that something...something would happen. As if everything that happened was listed as her fault, and that it would only get worse the longer they were there. Panic nipped at her mind as she looked back at Malak, "Can we go?"

He met her gaze, "I'm fine."

"No, it's not that," she said between loud bursts, "I just...I'm tired, you know?"

He looked like he knew all too well, but stood anyways and lowered a hand to help her up. As they followed the path back to the Enclave, he offered his elbow, which she linked with hers. It was a strange thing, to walk arm in arm, but it was the smallest comfort they could offer each other without any words.

And when the Enclave was in sight, she stopped her tired footsteps and broke the chain between them. It was hard to see in the starlight, but she could see the confusion in his gaze.

"I have a different idea," she said quietly, and when he didn't say anything she grabbed his arm and led him down a path they'd been only once before. One she knew Malak wouldn't recognize at first but she hoped he would remember. And they reached the end of the path, where the land broke off into what was usually a sea of golden grass but was now an ocean of black below them. Even at night, she remarked to herself, it was still beautiful. Untouched and unknown by most at the Academy, it was her favorite spot on the planet, and tonight it served its purpose.

"We've been here before," Malak spoke softly as they settled into the grass.

She smiled, "Do you remember? We weren't even friends then." Force, that was months ago.

"Of course I do, that day changed the way I look at meditation. Well, you did, at least."

"Yeah and I remember when you yelled at me for it."

He scoffed, "I didn't_ yell_ at you."

"Hey," she began, her voice serious, "I'm sorry about your parents."

She could hear him suck in his breath, "No, it's alright. I mean there's the chance that they're okay." His voice was tight as it trailed off. Both knew that the odds of them being alive were slim.

"I remember them," he said suddenly, "I don't remember much about life before the Order, but I remember them. My father always wore a suit, I don't remember what he did for work but he was always dressed nicely. When he'd come home he'd pick me up and tell me how big I was getting. If only he could see me now," he laughed slightly, more to himself, "And he'd tell my mother about his day as he helped her prepare dinner. I've never seen two people so in love. They were there for each other, you know? And if they are dead," he paused for a moment, looking away, "then at least they were together."

His words were forced out, and there was a moment where she realized there was nothing she could say or do that would make it right. And she could only watch him as he gazed out into the blackness.

"I've never told anyone that before."

It was such a moment where she realized that this was more than them just hanging out. It was cementing a friendship that had been building over weeks of time spent together. But it wasn't until this moment that she considered their friendship would be more serious than competing with each other or sitting on the couch for hours. But as he spoke, with the heaviness of his words that were meant only for her to hear, it was easy to see the reality of life around them and how much one needed someone else to rely on.

He looked over at her suddenly, his eyes blazing in the depth of the night. And she, she looked so different as she seemed to search for something to say. But he knew there was nothing to say, because he himself didn't understand it. Despite the rules of no attachments there were times when he would wonder about them, what they were doing or how much they missed him. He was their only child and they gave him up to the Order out of love, and now they'd never know of anything he did. They wouldn't have a chance to see the outcome of their sacrifice.

"There's an old proverb," Revan began, "That has always sort of helped me out a bit.. And I mean, I don't feign to know what you're feeling because I don't know anything about my family, but it says: 'Look to this day, for yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision, but today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day.'"

Woven together, her words had a strength behind them that Malak felt that he could stand on. She spoke with simplicity and ease, but it was calming and it was enough to break down the barrier in his mind that refused the pain of the news. If not for his boyish pride he would have been in tears, but his gaze did not waver from hers, "You like poetry?"

She smiled and nodded, looking away shyly, "Yes." And he realized then that she was more than just Force and wit, more than the brash words she would often utter and the trouble she would cause. She was rough, but she was sincere, and that meant more. There was something warm about her that was seemingly more Jedi-like than anyone he'd ever met. There was true peace in her words and in her cadence as she spoke softly, watching him carefully.

"Thank you," he said, turning his attention back to the black sea of grass before winds rustled through them, picking up and wrapping around Revan and Malak quietly, as if the Force was once more present between them and trying to ease his soul.

At first he didn't think that he needed the comfort, that years of training should've allowed him to let go of the pain and accept the situation as it was. He would still remember his parents as they were, and he would live as they would want him to, but he needed time to let them go. All he ever wanted was to make them proud, and their disappearance would offer him greater reason to. And Revan, she would be there.

He looked to her then, as her eyes traced the silky black outlines before them, "Hey Rev?"

"Yes?"

"Could you tell me another poem?"

She smiled, her face illuminated by the starlight, "Of course."


	13. An Unknown Choice

The night carried on, speeding to a point where it had to stop, but didn't seem possible. Revan listened as he talked more about his family and what little he did remember about Quelii, and she told him about her lack of family and how alone it was knowing she had no one outside of the Order. It was a strange night by all means, but one that she hoped she'd always be able to remember. It was a keen reminder of all that life is and all that it boils down to, and it was well into the night before Revan and Malak returned to the Academy. And even then, early morning came and went before Revan had the chance to sleep.

"Revan."

She sighed, realizing her thoughts were once more drifting away, "I know, I know, I need to focus. I'm sorry, Master."

Kae watched her for a moment, "You've been struggling all morning. What is it that preoccupies your mind?"

Revan considered this; she couldn't very well tell Master Kae about Malak because it was personal and she would only ever know because she was there when it happened. But as she met Kae's gaze, she knew she was too tired to block her out of her mind. It wasn't as though she meant to, and she immediately felt regret tugging at her mind, but the information slipped from her grasp.

Kae was quiet for a moment, and though her voice was smooth and calm, Revan could tell the woman wasn't entirely so. "You wish to go to him, you want to help him, but your help would only be a disservice to him."

"Why?"

"The boy is strong enough to handle this on his own, your influence would only serve to weaken him. Internal struggles are meant to be faced alone, and if you truly wish to help you would leave him to understand this on his own."

Revan nodded, letting the idea sink into her mind. Though she didn't entirely understand why, it felt as though Kae was more or less telling her to stay away from him. It wasn't a mystery that the elder woman didn't approve of Revan spending all of her free time with friends instead of studying. Though her hunger for knowledge had never been sated, the pace at which she devoured it had slowed. It was just for a period of time while she was sick and a little bit since she'd recovered, but it wasn't as though she was actively avoiding anything.

Kae watched her for a moment before she sighed, "I wish you would focus on your training instead of getting involved with these situations."

It was Kae's way; it wasn't some codependent request, it was a genuine worry that she could see etched on her Master's face, causing guilt to roll freely in her mind and stomach.

"I'm sorry," was all Revan could say, watching her Master with mirrored concern.

"Don't apologize," she said, with the slightest hint of a smile, though grim. "Just...be careful."

That caught Revan's attention, "Is this about the future again?"

Kae shook her head, "I just want you to look out for yourself, above all. I want you to be able to see through things, to recognize them before you allow them to hurt you."

Revan nodded, her mind and body too tired to think of a comprehensive response. She watched as Kae got up as motioned across the room, "Go. You need your rest and now is not the right time for you to continue your lessons. If you should require my presence, I'll be in the Archives."

She watched as her ever elusive Master left the room, leaving Revan alone with her weariness. She just wanted to erase any memories of the day, to sleep off the next week and forget that this all happened. She sat there for a moment, her eyes wandering as she tried to gather any thoughts that she could. They caught the door, appealing now that she didn't have anything else to do; it beckoned her and soon she found herself stepping towards it.

The air was soft and comforting as it enveloped her, and she closed her eyes as the warm breeze brushed across her skin and through her hair. Her footsteps automatically took her on a familiar path, one that she followed last night with a boy who continued to surprise her. He was nothing like that day that they'd first met, though she supposed she wasn't either. Both had fronts that only recently came down, especially his. But she needed to distance herself, and she felt as though she could, because it was only a matter of time before she did comfort him. And if Kae was correct, then she didn't want to hurt him in the long run.

But her positivity ended the moment she saw he was already there.

"Malak?"

He turned his head, smiling slightly when he realized it was her. She sat down next to him, the sight completely different from last night. The overhead sun replaced not only the cool night air, but the black swell before them. Once more golden grass was laid out, radiating the inner peace of Dantooine.

She quirked her lips to the side, already trying to prevent the questions looming in her mind and begging to come out.

"So how are you doing?" he asked her.

Her gaze flew over to meet his, "How am _I_ doing? Force, I'm fine Malak, how are you?"

Why did she trust herself to talk? She should've just clamped her palm over her mouth, it would've made her life easier.

"I'm...okay," his gaze faded from hers and out to the fields, his lips formed a slight smile "I think."

She clicked her teeth together, trying to stop her mind from continuing its tirade as it tried to dig up all of her thoughts and feelings. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself that this was for his sake. "Master Kae has seen my future," she said suddenly. It was the first non-Malak related thing she could think of. "Well, some of it at least."

"Really? Anything cool going on there?"

Revan shook her head, "She won't tell me anything about it, but sometimes when we're talking she just...I don't know. It's like these little things that remind her of something, and whenever I ask she just denies it, says it's dangerous for me to know. It's always the strangest things too, I don't know, Mal."

"Do you think it's something bad, or perhaps she's compensating for how good it is?"

She smiled, almost laughing as she turned her head away, "I don't know, and I don't know if I want to know, you know?" she smiled to herself, covering her forehead with her hand, "Could you please tell me to stop talking?"

He laughed then, and it was really good to see. "So do you like having her as a Master? She seems...complicated."

"Complicated is definitely the right term to describe her, but she's always been the closest thing I've had to a mother. Though I guess that isn't entirely true, well at least lately it hasn't been. Force, I don't even know what I'm saying."

He turned his head towards her with question in his eyes.

"She just seems...preoccupied. Every time she looks at me, it's like she's just seeing what's going to happen and I can't really blame her for that. I suppose that would be hard on anyone. But she's always missing too, she's offworld doing _things_, I never know what she's doing. I miss the way things were, when she used to have all these cryptic riddles for me about what would make a Jedi a Jedi. Instead now it's all the things I've done to disappoint her, when I feel like she's the one who made me this way, you know?"

"That's a part of life though, people change and relationships change. Maybe she knows that she couldn't always be a mother figure for you, but by distancing herself she doesn't realize how it's affecting you."

"What the hell, Malak!"

"What?"

Revan threw her face into her open palms, turning to peak at him through her spread fingers, "I'm doing exactly what she told me not to do. Malak, she _told_ me so. Why didn't I listen? These lessons _always_ apply to me, what was I_ thinking_?"

His brows were furrowed the entire time he listened to her. He didn't look like he knew what to make of her, and she didn't blame him: she was a mess. His fingers ghosted over the skin above his brow, "You need to back up for like one minute and explain what's going on."

"I was literally just talking to Kae," she said as she dropped her hands, "And she told me not to help you—"

"_What_?"

"She's crafty like that, okay? I'm sorry, really, I am. Anyways, she said that if you help someone when they're facing an internal struggle, you'd only be weakening them. And when she said that I didn't think anything of it other than I shouldn't help you deal with this, even though I want to, you know? But I didn't stop to think that it could also apply to me. I've never talked to anyone about Kae before and I...I don't know what I was expecting, but you gave me some pretty sound advice, jerk."

"You do realize that you sound crazy, right?"

Revan huffed, "I'm not, and I should be figuring this out myself."

"Why?"

"Because I'll be better off, I guess. If I have to rely on other people to solve my problems, where will my head be?"

Malak looked around them before shifting his whole body to face her, "That's the biggest load of bantha fodder I've heard."

She had to refrain from pouting, opting instead to raise her brows, "It is?"

"It sounds to me like she just wants you to stay away from other people and have some self reliance. But I don't think life is meant to be lived alone, even as a Jedi. Strength isn't necessarily being your own means of support, but realizing that you need support and accepting it from other people."

She took a deep breath before allowing her forehead to fall onto his shoulder, "I don't know what to think Mal."

"It's okay, I mean you hardly got any sleep last night—"

"Zero. _Zero sleep_, Malak."

She could feel his laughter through his body, "You'll feel better tomorrow."

"There you go again, Mal! Stop stop stop, I'm not the one who needs lots of love and comfort, you poor thing. Just...I'm sorry.."

He laughed again, and she leaned back so she could see his face.

"I'll be fine Rev, I think it's going to work out better than expected."

She could only look at his eyes, narrowed but kind. It had to have been her completely exhausted mind, but she wanted to cry just looking at him. There was such positivity in his gaze, such hope that she couldn't even believe it. She never had a family, she never had anyone besides Kae or maybe Talvon, who both came in and out of her life but she always knew they would return.

It was that she, who never lost anyone, could be so upset, while he, whose parents were missing, was hopeful.

Her forehead fell back onto his shoulder, where she closed her eyes and tried not to think anymore, it wasn't doing her any good. "You're a good friend, Malak."

He didn't seem to have a response to that, instead just letting the quiet breeze wash over them. It wasn't as though he wanted her help, but that he didn't want to need it. Despite their previous issues, everything was good between them. He didn't know why she seemingly felt so comfortable around him, other than the fact the he felt the same. It was natural, it was...he didn't know, but it was right and he was okay with her resting on him because he knew she needed it, and he knew at this point that she'd do the same for him.

"Malak?" she asked, her voice calmer now that they'd had a few minutes of quiet.

"Yes?"

"How old are you?"

He felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, she was such an odd bird. "I'm fifteen."

"You're older than me."

He let a moment pass before he asked, "And how old are you?"

"Fourteen, but my birthday is in a few weeks."

He nodded, if this was what she needed then this was what she needed.

"Revan?"

"Yes?"

He took a deep breath, "I can sense them."

She pulled away from him quickly to meet his gaze, "Your parents?"

He nodded, letting this admission wash over both of them. They were both quiet for a long time, long enough that he glanced over at her multiple times to see if she was still awake or not. He was still so unsure about all of this, but he was feeling better, and he knew that with Revan perhaps he'd be okay sooner rather than later.

And perhaps all that needed to be said was already out there, and all that was needed now was the quiet.

"Malak?"

Or maybe not.

"Yes, Revan?"

"Do you want to meditate?"

He looked over at her; her eyes were tired but her features were much calmer than when she first approached him. He nodded, turning to face her as she did the same. The idea of how different this was than the last time they meditated here passed freely between them as she took his hands in hers. Once more the world was open to his eyes, but this time he felt like he understood it, and this time he accepted it.


	14. Breathing Space

She couldn't understand why Dantooine had the same appeal to her, still after so many years. Complaints were often made in her frustration at never leaving, at the lack of exposure to other worlds and cultures, but that didn't make the soft grass any less inviting or the candy colored sky any less fascinating. It was all she could see now, her back pressed against the cool earth and her eyes fixated on the sky like a looking glass above her, reflecting so much more than mere colors could be. It was no mystery as to why the Jedi settled here, the sky was an endless array of peace but did not compare to the singing breeze that breathed serenity. It was wonderful.

Revan was content to lay on the jagged cliff that her and Malak now considered their 'spot'. It was where they spent all of their free time. There, together they felt like they could do whatever they wanted, whatever their Masters asked, whatever the Order prescribed, or whatever their own free minds came up with. It was simple and it was private, away from all the other Padawans and Knights who freely roamed Dantooine and yet left this one place untouched. It was the epitome of everything that a Jedi could be. It was wonderful.

She had to tear her eyes from the sky to glance over at Malak, his eyes focused on a datapad, not unusual for him. His desire to learn more was not unappreciated by Revan, whose own desire had once more sparked in the few weeks since she realized the disappointment from Master Kae. It was a support she didn't think she'd receive from anyone else, those who wanted to run before they learned to walk. It was a desire now to be the best there was, and understanding the many rises and falls of a great Jedi, and the long road that she once assumed could be shortened. She was always on it, whether at a sprint or a walk, or feet planted by her own frustration, but the understanding always was that she would get there.

But greatness could always wait one afternoon, one that was perfect in all accordances. One that wrapped her in a peace that, without experience, she didn't think could be found anywhere else. She wanted to wrap her body in the earth and twist flowers into her hair, she wanted to sing at the top of her lungs, as if the sky could hear her praises and be pleased with her as well. There was no denying that for a moment, for an afternoon of simplicity and warm company, she was high on life, and it was wonderful.

Her gaze rested on Malak, who was too focused to notice or perhaps he didn't care. It was the first time she'd noticed that he lost most of the baby fat in his face, marked primarily by his jawbone, which was more pronounced as his teeth clicked together quietly as he read. She didn't know why or how, but she knew that the Force had led them to this. That it had some bigger scheme and she wouldn't deny it as it revealed itself to her. It was a mere waiting game at this point, one she was content to wait out.

"I'm trying to focus here," he grumbled as his eyes continued to scan the datapad in his hand. His knack for sensing exactly when he held her gaze never failed to amuse her. It was something she didn't appreciate at first, but now made it easier to fall into conversation with him.

Her head lolled for a moment before she kept it aimed towards the sky. The feeling of grass and dirt against her hair was not pleasant, nor would she enjoy brushing and washing it later, but for now she couldn't care less. "What are you reading?" she asked.

His eyes scanned the datapad for a few seconds before he turned his attention towards her, presumably finishing the sentence he was on. The datapad easily clicked off as he spoke, "Just studying. Stances, forms, blocks and parries, the usual I guess."

"So you're like, really into that, aren't you?"

She could hear the edge of excitement in his voice, and in her eyes there wasn't anything greater than listening to someone speak about their passions. "I love it," he said, "I think I could study it for the rest of my life and never get bored."

"And yet you won't fight me," she said, with just the slightest bit of challenge in her voice.

"Well," the smirk was evident, even without seeing him, "Considering how well it went last time."

"Do we really need to have this conversation again?"

"I think so, seeing as it's never actually been resolved."

She closed her eyes for just a moment, knowing how dirty her hair was going to be after this, she was too animated for her own good. "It'll only be resolved if we fight again. You might as well admit it, you've been avoiding this because you're scared I'll be better than you."

"I'm not avoiding anything," he said with a whine that distinctly reminded her of Talvon.

"Come on Malak, fight me. I can't promise it'll be painless but it'll be fun."

He laughed to himself for just a moment before flicking his datapad back on, "Nope."

"Spoilsport. You're only making this harder on yourself for when we do fight," she resolved, "Because you're leaving me too much time to practice and then there'll be no stopping me."

"I think you're ignoring the fact that I already beat you," he said distractedly.

She groaned, "Will you ever give that up? We both know that was an accident."

"Oh do we? I guess we'll never find out."

There was nothing she could do, but laugh. The kind of laugh that wasn't necessary or forced, but fell easily from her lips. "What kind of psychological game are you playing here? What are you doing to me, Mal?"

"Look at you, lazing about all day, what are you doing to yourself?"

She tilted her head back further, smiling and stretching out her arms on either side of her, "I'm flying."

She could hear the datapad as he clicked it off once more, "Flying?"

"I am a brith through the sky, as my wings are one with the air, so too is my spirit. I am the temple, I am the sky, I am lavender—"

His laughter cut through her speech, "The color or the flower?"

She raised her head to look over at him, a big grin evident on his face as he watched her bemusedly. "Shut up and get over here," she said, "It's a beautiful day, put down the datapad and enjoy it."

It was a challenge and they both knew it, and Malak, being who was, put down the datapad. His long strides carried him over to her quickly, where he proceeded to lay down next to her.

"Spread your arms out," she instructed.

He did so, and she knew he was probably rolling his eyes at how ridiculous this was, but she didn't care.

"Now tell me what you are."

"I am...Revan, this is absurd."

"Just do it."

He sighed once more, "I am a tree, I am the roots founded in the earth. I am a pool of water, evaporating into nothingness until I appear amongst the clouds. I am a rock, not changed by those around me, but by the simple elements as they shape me through years of exposure. And you are the wind, Revan. You cannot cut, you cannot dig or sever, but you can move."

She watched him as he spoke to the sky above them, his words forming easily and flowing much like the nature he described. She smiled when he spoke of her and for a moment she didn't know what to say. "No," she settled on, "You are a poet."

His head turned towards her, and for a moment they could only lock eyes before a small smile crept onto his face, "And I didn't even know it."

She laughed, looking back to the sky where her eyes were safe, but where her spirit couldn't hide as the Force moved through the ground and around them. It twisted and spiraled as a hurricane passing by. It was forcible; strong, and she could sense it in her cells, in her very blood as it beat through her veins. And it, too, was wonderful.


	15. Awaken

Lessons always seemed so inefficient. It was the same thing, year after year: reinforcement. It's why children were taken so young, when their minds were still impressionable, so that years of teaching the same lessons would be so ingrained within them that they would somehow reveal themselves at the right time. Revan found this to be true on many occasions, when her frustration would ebb out or her anger nipped at her stomach.

There is no emotion, there is peace.

It was only slightly disturbing how easily and naturally this came to mind, but it was no different than walking or writing. It was all just programming the mind needed in order to survive, to be able to function. That's all the Code would ever be, a list of words that prevented her from becoming anything other than what the Jedi wanted her to be. It was a genius plan, really. One that gave the Council control. She knew couldn't argue them, she would always be the Jedi they wanted; everyone would. But that was the beauty of it all, with such high morals and ethics, the Jedi were creating an army of devoted, Force-wielding sentients, who would always fight against evil in the hopes of making the galaxy a better place.

But it also meant that lessons always seemed to be the same thing. At least Vash was more entertaining than Master Vrook, but it still felt the same as all the others. Revan watched the chronometer carefully, glancing over every few minutes in hopes that more time had passed. She forced herself to sit still, glancing around at her fellow Padawans. As they got older, the generalized classes got smaller and she found that there were very few in this one, the only other person from her inner circle was Cariaga, who was no longer sick and was now paying careful attention as Vash continued to talk about Force echoes.

Force echoes...she could've sworn Kae had taught her this before, so she figured it wouldn't be too big of a deal if she didn't pay attention just this once. Her thoughts traced back to Kae, who was warmer than she had been lately. Sometimes Revan didn't understand the woman, well, most of the time she didn't, but Kae seemed to face things in silence, and her distracted mind was often cold and unforgiving towards Revan, who at times may not have acted so, but truly did want to please her Master.

But things were getting better, she considered as Vash dismissed them, and things seemed like years ago, when Revan was very young and needed to hone her abilities. Years spent with this woman, and she didn't think that a few weeks of cool tones could drive them apart. She really was like a mother to her, one she didn't always treat with the respect she deserved, but was guided through the early stages of her life with a firm helping hand. It was a strange concept that once she was Knighted that this would all be over, that she would move on to her own assignments and perhaps receive a Padawan of her own,

But that didn't' seem right.

Revan's light footsteps carried her out of the main building and to the garages that Kae had asked her to meet her at. She had no clue what her Master had in store for her, and the element of surprise added to the excitement of it all. Life was exciting now, and she didn't want it to stop.

She hesitated before she opened the garage door, not entirely sure what she was looking at once it was opened. Kae was meditating, that was easy to see, but the parts and components laid out next to her was what confused Revan.

"Master?"

Kae stirred from her meditations, a small smile etched on her face as she regarded Revan, "Are you ready?"

"What is it?" she asked, looking at all the varied shapes of metal and tools presented in a neat fashion. They all had a function, one that Revan didn't know but was somehow eager to understand. This was unlike Kae, whatever it was, who always focused on the Force and the power it presented.

Kae's gaze wasn't focused, but she still regarded Revan, "That's for you to decide."

Revan ran a hand through her unbraided hair, "You want me to put it together? Even though I don't know what it is?"

She could've sworn her Master smirked, the woman's aging features were suddenly warm and it made Revan smile even though she was still confused by it all, "I feel as though I've...handicapped you."

"How so?"

"You are gifted in the Force, you show even the blind your attunement. But there are limits in natural abilities, limits that may be tested and dismantled, and that it the purpose of this."

Revan was always too full of questions, so she merely scrunched her nose as she kept her focus on what was before her.

Kae paused for a moment, "Grounding, in a physical aspect, will distract your mind and allow you to open up to the Force in your subconscious. Let it flow through you as you focus on your hands, on the inner workings of the machine you create."

Revan pressed her lips together, nodding slowly, "Why haven't I done this before?"

"Because things are changing, things are going to change, and I want to prepare you as much as possible."

She knew she was pressing her luck, but she had to ask, even though she knew she probably wouldn't get a straight answer, "What's going to change?"

"Everything, or nothing, it all depends on you, Revan." Kae spoke with a simplicity that was somehow refreshing, that made her answer seem as though it wasn't a cop out, that Kae really thought that Revan held the power to her future and it made her feel as though something in the galaxy was right again. Something that was missing was now found and the puzzle that was her Master was now complete.

She nodded again, but this time Kae dismissed herself to leave Revan alone with whatever she would build. Whatever she could build, if she knew how to build anything. She kneeled before the pieces laid out, taking each one at a time and feeling it in her hands. The smooth or rusted metal, the gentle curves and jagged edges, it was all some elaborate plan that Revan needed to uncover, one that would be simple to someone dedicated to the craft but a mystery to a young girl, barely fifteen years old and trying to build a machine.

The Force knew, or at least by her understanding of the Force, she believed it knew. That somehow it could work through her and create a masterpiece before her, one that she wouldn't have any control over or perhaps even understand. A greater scheme that she was only a conduit for, utterly wielding no power, but carrying out a greater will. She believed in the will of the Force.

So she got to work, she meditated for a long time before she picked up another piece, channeling the Force through her before she set to her task. And it was only when her body hummed with life, that her fingertips were warm and she could hear her heartbeat working in perfect accordance with the intricate web of life within her, that her hands finally found one of the pieces. One that she was drawn to and she immediately knew was right. And then she was on the path.

A path that would lead to her success, one that would please Kae and she knew that. Kae was the focus of her efforts, of her determination and her willingness to try. Her whole life she'd been working towards some amount of success amongst the Jedi, and that path was laid out before her, much like the metal and iron workings of the machine she would build. And Kae was leading her down the path, she didn't know where she'd be without her. Just a small girl too attuned to the Force for her own good. She wouldn't want anyone else, and even if she had different lessons from everyone else or was considered odd, she didn't care.

She'd been told her life that she was different and it was no different now. Somehow she'd gotten used to the notion of some destiny spiraling out before her, until Kae told her that it wasn't necessarily so and that it was up to her. But things would have a way of working out, and no matter how they did, Revan would be paying attention, and she would understand.

So after hours of focus, she took a step back from her workings, from her tired hands and the product of their exertion. It was only the beginning, and it was only a matter of time. It all was, when it came down to it. She could either sit and wait for the idea of what to build, and nothing would ever be done until she knew. Or she could build and build and build, creating nothing worthwhile but always trying again. In one way she could wait years before she knew what it was, but then take hours to put it together, but in the other she could build it a million times and still never figure it out, until one day it made sense. Either way it was just a matter of time, and deep down Revan knew that she was a builder.

She was a building.

She was everything that she ever said she was, and Kae only saw the potential for more. But Malak, he saw her; he saw through her. It always seemed as though thoughts of him were warm and the Force came alive beneath her fingernails; she didn't know why, and she didn't know if she wanted to. But there was a greater lesson in all of this, and she wasn't sure what it was yet; she never seemed to. There was always more to Kae, and Revan hoped that someday she too would possess this quality.


	16. It's Just a State of Mind

Listless rain echoed loudly into the garage, coming in through the open door which was mere inches from where Revan sat, staring at her contraption before her. It was beautiful by no means, looking more and more like a pile of scrap the longer she worked on it, and the more she stared at it the less sense it made, having no function other than distraction.

For she was a woman obsessed. Behind every thought, every word or motion, there it was. It was like a snake in a tent, waiting for her to show herself weak or vulnerable, and only then sinking its fangs into her flesh, poisoning her mind until it was all she could think about. She didn't know how long she'd been working on it, her mind losing track of all else. Time was inconceivable, days and nights blended together until it was one long stretch of time marked only by the contraption before her.

"Revan!"

Malak's distinct voice and call was the one thing that could take her mind off the damned machine, or...whatever it was. He'd visited her often during this strange period of her life where all else was a blur, and nights were either spent in the garage or nearly crawling back to her room out of weariness; either way not spending time with him, watching holovids or lazing about as she was used to.

He appeared moments after she heard his voice, his outer robe held over his head by his arms, though it didn't seem to be enough cover, as his shoulders and chest were covered in spots and splotches of wet fabric. He looked concerned as he regarded her, his features twisting into a frown as he stood tall above her. She was merely curled up against the wall, the only thing left to do at this time of day was to stare. Stare and try to reach the Force even though she was absolutely exhausted.

"Come back?"

She shook her head.

"Why?" he asked, and she knew it was a valid question, one that she asked herself many times when she got to this point of the day.

But it was also one she didn't know the answer to until she tried to rip herself from the garage, only to return, only to beg for just a few more minutes, as if those few precious moments would lead her to the answers of not only what she was building, but what exactly she was looking for through this. She was a builder, no doubt, blindly following the Force as she molded and twisted her machinations together, only to take it apart and try again. She was a builder, and it was very tiring.

She shook her head though, she couldn't leave now. Not only did she feel as if the Force were close to returning to her in a rush of action and progress, she was wary of the skittering rain outside, which shouldn't have been a threat but somehow still loomed large in her mind. It wasn't nearly as cold as it was when she got sick, nor was the walk back to the Enclave far enough to get as soaked as she did standing out in it. Still, she didn't want to go back.

Revan expected him to continue his efforts to get her to leave, and though she felt bad, she knew these efforts were in vain. It wasn't as though she wasn't guilty about spending less time with him than usual, she hadn't even been to their spot since she was introduced to this contraption, and he didn't say anything of the sort, but she knew its affect on him. Sometimes he'd come and watch her as she worked in silence, and other days she wouldn't see him at all. Whatever routine they'd found had been lost, but not without purpose. In her eyes, this would all be worth it.

But as she watched him, he didn't continue his questions, he merely came to her side, sitting next to her against the wall. He smelled like rain and the warmth of the Enclave, he was close and somehow it wasn't enough for Revan, who had made herself distant with this whole mess. It was the first time that she thought the guilt might be enough to bring her back to some sort of normalcy.

"Do you know what it is yet?" he asked, breaking the silence.

She shook her head, "Just...it's whatever. I mean I can't expect to have a masterpiece right away, can I?"

_Yes, you can._

She ran a hand through her hair, limp and greasy from her stress, not that she cared. She never felt like she had to impress anyone, especially Malak who never took her appearance in with a critical eye. His gaze was fixed on the metal workings before them, perhaps trying to see it differently, "I don't think you need to stress out about it so much."

"And why is that?"

He shrugged, though it was just the slightest movement of his shoulders, "Because it's taken over your life."

She frowned, "Just a little bit."

"I don't think this is what Kae meant for you to do," he said, his voice honest and though she could appreciate that, she could feel herself retreating within her mind where she didn't have to be reminded about Kae.

"I guess, I don't know, she left a few days ago," she said quickly and quietly.

"She left?"

She hesitated before she nodded, running her hands through her hair again, "It's not a big deal, it's just frustrating, you know?"

"No, I don't," he said before a loud crack of thunder bellowed out. He waited for the sound to pass before he spoke again, "She's not like the other Masters, she does everything differently."

"It's not like she does anything wrong...she just has different ideas and measures of success."

He looked very suddenly uncomfortable, "Is that why you're so obsessed with this thing?"

"What?"

"Well you're obviously very devoted to this, and it just seems like you're taking out whatever you're feeling on it, that in some way it'll fix things."

She was tight lipped for a moment, but broke into a smile and her laughter rang out over the rain outside, "I don't need a therapist, Mal. I know I get obsessive over things, it's no mystery. I just want to _know_. I look at it and it's like some sort of puzzle and I can't stop until it's done."

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, "Fine, but will you at least come back to the Enclave? You've been here for hours."

She nodded, watching him stand and accepting his support as he helped her up. She brushed off the backs of her legs, pausing at the entrance of the garage.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm not going out there."

He frowned, "Does this have something to do with a certain weather phenomenon that is currently taking place right now, one that once upon a time made you sick?"

"No...maybe a little."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of it," he smiled at the indignant look immediately on her face, "Oh come on, this is _completely_ different. First of all, that time was just a fluke, and secondly, it's not even cold out."

She crossed her arms, "I'm not going out there until it stops raining."

"Come on, it could rain for the next thousand years and you'd be stuck here in this garage until you starved to death, that is if you didn't drink the rainwater, which I'm sure you'd rather die than go out there."

"Don't be ridiculous."

He laughed, "Oh I'm being ridiculous?"

"You can go back if you want," was her flippant reply, "I'm going to wait it out."

He watched her for a moment before his eyes turned to the contraption looming in the back of the garage, "You're a devious little thing, aren't you?"

"_What_?"

"Look at you, we both know you're not afraid of the rain and that the only reason you want to stay is for that...that _thing_," he said, gesturing to it.

"What is your _problem_ with it?"

"Other than the fact that it's taken over your life?"

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I can't just give up working on it, especially not when Kae's gone. I already shirk off too many responsibilities when she's not here."

"But everyday?"

She sighed, laughing slightly on the exhale, "Okay, how about four days a week?"

"Two?"

"Three."

He shook his head, "I'm not budging."

"That's poor bartering, I think three is fair."

"Fine, but can you at least come back early enough so we can continue our venture into watching all of those holovids?"

She pulled her sleeves taut around her wrists, "I'll say, Malak. It seems to me like you're jealous of this contraption."

He guffawed at her remark, "I just don't want this whole, 'let it take over your life' thing to stick."

"It happens," she said with a shrug.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Which was?"

He tilted his head back for a moment, "You're impossible. Why do I do this to myself?"

"Because my friendship is worth it," she laughed, in a completely mocking, yet still arrogant tone.

He shook his head, "Have I ever told you how much I don't like you?"

"Well I don't think you'd be here right now if you didn't."

"Just come back to the Enclave. There's a stack of holovids waiting for you and dinner is chaka noodles, come on, you can't resist the chaka."

She laughed again, wholeheartedly this time, "Oh how you tempt me, Malak. But I don't think there's any way you could get me to go back in this terrible weather."

"Wanna bet?"

The challenge was out there, available to their eager ears. Her lips fell into a smile as she bolted to the side, realizing quickly that the small garage was completely unconducive for these kinds of activities. Malak was fast, and he was on her quickly, his strength overbearing her attempts to keep his arms from surrounding her. Which was futile, because he was much stronger than her and she couldn't hold him off for long before she was up in the air, yelling as he made his way to the door with her slung over his shoulder.

"I swear to the Force if I get wet—"

He put her down then, lifting a thumb and forefinger to his chin as if he were scrutinizing her. And then he pulled off his outer robe, throwing it over her head and picking her up again. She squealed, feeling very much like Nisotsa in that moment, and tried to squirm out of his hold on her.

To no avail, she hung there limply, wrapped in his warmth and feeling the rain pound against her back as she was blindly led back to the Enclave. She wasn't cold in the slightest and when he put her down and removed the robe she was nearly completely dry, if not a complete mess. She smoothed down her hair while she gave him a dirty look and made her way to the cafe, leaving him to follow.

Which he did, the notion that he was probably laughing the entire time and still laughing, very clear. She ignored him as he caught up with her, to which he butted shoulders with her, even though hers were considerably lower.

_When did he get so tall?_

She glanced up at him, frowning, "This is only for the chaka noodles, not because you forced me to."

"I know," he said casually, "I mean, who would blame you?"

She shook her head as they entered the cafe, "I blame myself."

They sat down next to one of the rain battered windows, across from each other in the quiet of the cafeteria. So maybe he was right and it had taken over her life, which made sense because she literally had no idea what time it was before she saw him. And watching him now, the way he ate quietly and how wet his robes were from not protecting himself from the rain, it made her think that perhaps she shouldn't be devoting so much time to her project, pouring herself into it as she had done her whole life. That maybe it wasn't worth it if it caused her to distance herself from him...from everyone. Maybe she did need a therapist.

And so she gave up her scowl and hardened attitude, allowing her face to fall into a defeated smile. A smile that was meant only for Malak because he had won, and in all accordances she'd been defeated and Malak had been right. Maybe it was a lesson for life, one that she couldn't have learned from someone else because no one else could do so in such a subtle way; to reach her stubborn heart. To understand that others mattered, others were right, and that they _cared_. It meant more to her in that moment than she'd care to understand, than she thought she could understand. It was strange having a friendship that meant more than just teasing each other or staying up late; it was something she'd never found with anyone else. And when he smiled back, she knew that it was worth it.


	17. Yellow Light

Face to face, their shins barely touching and their feet carefully placed; the sides of their faces flashed with the reflected images from the holoscreen that, with each passing day, became less and less used. And the less they actually paid attention to the glowing screen in the late of night, the more the stresses and anxieties of everyday life melted away into easy conversation and each other's company.

Getting to know Revan was like remembering someone. It was like they'd known each other before and were only catching up, and every simple moment spent together was easy. There was no pressure for anything to happen or for anything to be said, and though the couch wasn't the most comfortable place to spend long hours, especially considering that they were facing each other and Malak had to tuck his long legs up to fit on it, it was worth it. She, on the other hand, looked as comfortable as could be. He shook his head at her, "And what's so great about Alderaan?"

"Well for starters, the landscape is beautiful. I mean it has everything; mountains, oceans, and oh gosh the colors there, they're so different from Dantooine. And the snow?" she covered her face and groaned, "I want to go so bad. Don't even get me started on the history, and _stars_, seeing all the royal houses would be so fascinating. I mean, to read about it on the holonet is one thing, but to see it?"

His first reaction was to laugh, to which she responded with a foot into his shin, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," he said, "It's just, you get so passionate about the littlest things."

She pursed her lips to hide a smile, "And what's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing," he said, not without a smirk, "I like it."

"Fine, which planet would you like to visit most?"

He shook his head, "I don't know, I just kind of..want to visit them all."

"Oh come on, basically everyone wants to see all of the planets," she said with exaggerated monotony, "But which one would you go to first?"

He had to think about it for a moment, regretting not using her time to answer to think about his. But that would've been rude, and besides, he was genuinely interested in what she had to say. "Uh, Kashyyyk?"

"And why is that?"

"Because it's the best place to see the stars, I've read about all the visible lights and constellations that you just won't be able to see on other planets, plus the Wroshyr trees would be really cool to see in person."

Her face tilted into a smile, "See? That wasn't so hard."

"I guess not."

Revan didn't seem aware that her nails were tracing idle patterns up and down her neck. "Let's see," she said, "Favorite color?"

He had to laugh again, "I don't have one."

She tilted her head back for a moment, "I swear, you're the worst at this game. I mean come on, everyone has a favorite color."

"What's the point? It's not like we have any possessions to choose colors with or anything, and I mean our robes are brown—oh! I'll go with brown, because that's the color I see the most and it doesn't make it seem like I had no choice in picking these out."

"Good choice," she said with a nod, "Mine's red."

"Any reasoning behind that?"

"Nope, I just do."

He smiled, "Well there's no arguing with that logic."

She returned the smile as she let her head fall back onto the armrest of the couch.

"Hey Rev?"

"Yeah?" she said without moving.

"This holovid sucks."

Revan lifted her head suddenly, dramatically looking at the holoscreen as if she'd never seen one before, "We've been watching a holovid?"

"Not anymore," he said, turning it off and standing, able to stretch out his cramped legs.

She looked up at him, not moving from her position on the couch, "I'm not tired."

"And I'm not really sure how to take that."

Her eyes narrowed at him and he immediately knew that she was planning something. He wasn't sure whether to be nervous or excited, because whatever it was that she was planning, it was late and it would most likely result in trouble. She was quiet for a moment before she asked, "Are you tired?"

But at least she was considerate. "Not particularly."

"Good, then let's go," she said, standing and heading towards the door.

"Wait, what?"

"Come on, Malak, we're losing starlight out there."

He didn't move, instead trying to analyze the situation in his head quickly enough to react. "For what?'

Her shoulders shrank, "You said you like them, right?"

"The stars?"

She nodded impatiently, "Lets go."

Malak didn't say anything further, but still followed her towards the exit, both of them easily slipping by the protocol droid that stood guard all hours of the day. The poor thing literally had no security measures to it all, just a guilt trip that they weren't doing something they were supposed to. Though Malak had hardly been paying attention the last time they snuck out, so it wasn't until now that he realized maybe Revan had been right and that the Jedi were letting them out easily; maybe they did indeed want them to. Or perhaps they trusted their students and Revan and Malak, being the responsible and upstanding Padawans that they were, betrayed that trust.

He figured it was too late at this point as he watched her skip ahead of him, stretching her arms out once they hit the night air. She disappeared for just a moment, slipping into the darkness before him until he took a deep breath and jogged to catch up with her, finding that she'd slowed to a walk.

"So what exactly are we doing?" he asked.

"Nothing crazy," she said before linking her arm with his, "Well, no Garang-esque adventures at least. We'll just go to our spot and watch the stars, no harm in that, right?"

"You'll probably find a way."

She shook her head in the dark of the night, and it was strange seeing her like this again. The last time had been under poor circumstances, but this time it felt different, and he was glad that he was with her. Paranoia and anxiety had been lost to the freedom of the night, and she was trying keep a straight face but it was lost to her smile. "It's your turn," she said.

Malak returned his attention to the grass before them, it wasn't a far walk to their spot, but they were taking their time. "Uh okay, what's your favorite animal?"

She made a humming noise as she presumably thought about it, "I'm not sure," she said, "Nexus are pretty badass, but I think banthas will always hold a special place in my heart."

"Banthas?"

"Well yeah, they're huge and they're really cute, I mean come on, have you seen their beards? I want to braid them and snuggle myself up in happy little bantha feelings."

Malak scrunched his nose, "'Cute is the last thing I expected from you."

"I said nexus too, didn't I?"

"Then I guess we'll let that one slide," he said with a laugh.

His laughter died and he let it give way to the quiet once they reached their spot, neither needing to say anything as they drew their arms back unto themselves. The grass was damp with dew below them, but it didn't matter as their eyes took in the sight above them. It was different from the last time they were there, when emotions and regret were too great of a distraction and beauty was the last thing that would, or perhaps could, bleed through to reach them below. But now it was everything Malak could have asked for, there were no words to describe it, at least none that felt right nor accurate.

They were just distant points of light, planets and stars that never seemed far away until laying below them, the feeling of being completely miniscule in comparison to the galaxy, and of the Force, which occupied it all. To have that flowing through him and around him, and still knowing that it flowed throughout the far reaches of space was one of the most minimizing, yet full experiences he'd come to know.

"How is it possible that something like this exists?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"Me neither," her voice was distant, and then, as if she had the answer she turned to him, "It's like it's the galaxy's easiest way of displaying the concept of infinity. I mean, how else could we understand other than looking into this endless mass above us every night?"

"You're being too philosophical," he said while jabbing his elbow towards her, though he did like the idea, but he was also tired and didn't want to have to comprehend any mind-altering ideas.

She pulled her arm back and turned her attention back to the sky, "Too bad, you agreed to come out here with me, this is what you're getting."

"Fine, but if I fall asleep, remember that I said no."

"Imagine if we did sleep out here?"

He exhaled a laugh, "Like camping?"

"Like camping," she echoed, "It would be so cool, we could watch the sunset and the stars, and then wake up to the sunrise. No, but really imagine it though, have you ever been out in the early morning? It's gorgeous. And obviously we know what it's like at night so it would just be like three stages of fantastical viewing experience."

He turned his head towards her, "Not to mention a whole load of trouble awaiting us when we get back in the morning."

"They don't keep track of that," she said with a sigh, "We could just tell people that we took a morning walk or something."

"That's lying."

"It is not, I mean we walked out here, didn't we?"

He smiled, "It's not the truth either."

Malak could hear her shift next to him, but his gaze was turned to the sky once more. She shifted again, "You're not very devious, Malak."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No," she said, and it was as though he could hear her lips parting, he could see her smile just through a single spoken word.

And it was as if that was that. A night summed up in parted smiles and laughter as they went on about their favorite things and all the trouble that they could get into. But no trouble befell them long after they ran out of words to say and decided that they were far too tired and less than adventurous, deciding to return to the Enclave and finally getting the sleep that they'd been denying themselves. It was a very simple, and very happy night.


	18. Waiting to be Said

"Your left, dammit!" Revan called out before her palm rose to splay over her mouth. "Dammit," she said again, though it was muffled through her fingers. Her eyes immediately went to Zhar, who was sitting beside her; and he could only smile and shake his head now as his focus was more on her than the sparring match before them.

It was between Malak and someone who'd only recently arrived on Dantooine, and she wasn't quite sure who he was yet, but it was a close match. Malak was a talented fighter indeed, perhaps even moreso if he would just block his left side, and of course if he paid more attention, though she supposed he couldn't with her yelling at him the whole time. It was reason enough for Zhar to tell her to stop, though it soon became obvious that she couldn't.

She'd gotten used to being around the Twi'lek Master, especially considering that he was Malak's and that she was spending more time with him now than ever. And she had to admit that she thoroughly enjoyed Zhar's presence, he wasn't overbearing or too thoughtful. He was kind and his eyes crinkled when he smiled; Revan liked that.

What she liked even more was his extensive knowledge on fighting. He would talk about stances or forms and she would listen with interest as he wove his words together in an easy manner, talking about it as though she already knew what he was saying and that he was just reminding her. She seemed to always be in disbelief at how much he knew about it, moreso than her, who had prided herself on knowing (mostly) everything.

But he'd been serious about her trying to help out Malak, she could see it through the defeated smile he gave her. It was obvious enough that he cared about Malak's training, but that he really wanted the Padawan to figure it out on his own. But as she glanced away from Zhar, she noticed that the fight was now over, and an angry Malak was looking over at them while still talking to the other Padawan.

She cracked a smile, letting her knuckles brush against Zhar's arm before she murmured an apology to him.

"Blast it," Malak called out from his position once he was finally alone, "If you're not the most annoying person in the world."

Revan laughed audibly this time, shaking her head, "Sorry Mal, can't help it."

He was close now, approaching them and obviously failing at keeping himself in check in front of his Master, "Can't help it? You're so distracting that I can't even fight, let alone listen to you. You nearly made me lose!"

"Only nearly, and I'm actually preparing you for the real world, you might as well thank me for my efforts to help. I mean, if you're actually fighting you can't afford to be distracted. You have to work through it," she said with an emphatic smile.

Looking rather defeated, Malak tried to find his last hope in Zhar who only shook his head. "She does have a point," he said with a hint of a smile.

Malak's arm swung around Revan's shoulder, "Maybe you are right," he said, though his arm crooked more and held her in a choke that she immediately tried to squirm out of. She laughed as she dug her nails under his grip, though he wasn't actually choking her, just keeping her in place. She used a bit of the Force to strengthen her hands, easily pushing him back, to which he scrunched his nose at her, pushing at her shoulder slightly as though he was letting her go.

Revan shook her head and looked to Zhar, who she had almost forgotten about but immediately relaxed when she realized he was looking at them with amusement in his eyes, as well as something unreadable that she'd seen only when he was watching them together. She decided then that she was quite fond of him, and that Malak was lucky to have him as a Master.

The Twi'lek's eyes crinkled in a smile before he gave Malak a swift pat on the back, "There's a lesson in everything, and obviously sometimes you find it in someone else," he said, looking to Revan. "Now get out of here."

Malak was hesitant to nod, but Revan was already moving on, making her way out the door and into the hall, albeit slowly to allow him to catch up.

"How do you manage?" he asked when he did.

She knew exactly what he was talking about but wanted to hear him say it himself. "Manage what?" she asked.

"To co-Master with Zhar over a sparring match and to force him into agreeing with you and your 'advice'."

"I didn't force him into anything, obviously he just realized that I'm right. Which I am, you know."

"Yeah, whatever," he muttered, and she watched as his features twisted into confusion as his eyes narrowed, "Isn't that—"

She looked over to where his gaze was directed, her eyes landing on a short boy with scruffy blonde hair that was far, far too familiar. "It is!" she called out, breaking into a run towards him, and before he could even see her, her arms wrapped tightly around his middle, successfully trapping his arms as well.

The boy made a half-squawk, half-shrieking sound before he wrenched out of her grasp to turn and face her. Once he did, his face lit up, "Revan!"

"Talvon!"

His smile was as sloppy and goofy as ever, and she laughed because nothing seemed to be different about him. It slowed to a smile before she punched him in the arm, "You'd said you'd be gone for a couple months!"

"Yeah, and?"

Revan shook her head, unsure as to whether or not she was ready to deal with this again. It was almost weird seeing him again, him being one of her best friends for the past few years. She turned her head back towards Malak, who had caught up to them by now, before speaking again, "Last time I checked, a couple of months does not equal over a year."

"It was a nice break, wasn't it? Hey Mal, nice to see you again," he said, nodding at the taller boy.

Malak returned the gesture, "It's certainly been a while."

She huffed slightly with impatience, "So? How was it? How was Nisotsa? Come on, come on, come on, you have to tell us everything."

"It was good," Talvon said with a noncommittal shrug, "I guess. It went on forever but it wasn't the worst thing in the world. Uh, Nisotsa was ridiculous, as usual. The trip would've been much better if she hadn't been complained so much."

"So what was the purpose of this trip?" Revan asked, genuinely interested.

"Aliens, mostly. They have real issues there, the rich hide them and the poor under the city like some dirty secret and pretend as if nothing is wrong. We've been working with the government there to try to solve some of these problems."

"Did it work?" Malak asked, and Revan was surprised by Talvon's maturity about the situation. She didn't think that he would take something like this as seriously as he seemed to, and she wondered herself how bad the situation was there and what kinds of things her poor friend had been exposed to over the past year.

Talvon shrugged again, "Not really, there's still people who haven't seen the sun in their entire life, and even the aliens that have been cleared to live up on the surface still receive trouble from the privileged."

Her brows furrowed, "What the hell did you do with Talvon?"

He let out a cheeky grin, "Did I also mention that Nisotsa tried to sneak out to see a deathmatch at the cantina dueling ring? Apparently she had the hots for one of the fighters and had to know whether or not he'd live. It was absolutely ridiculous."

Revan let out a sharp laugh, letting her head fall back for a moment before she glanced over at Malak, whose smile did not quite reach his eyes. She quirked her brow at him, mouthing a quick, "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I've actually gotta run," he said, gesturing his thumb behind him. Revan frowned, knowing him well enough at this point to know that he didn't really have anything to do or anywhere to go, but she merely watched as he turned his back, leaving the same way that they'd entered the hall.

When she faced Talvon again she could immediately see the confusion on the boy's face. "You're friends with Malak now?"

She didn't understand for a few long moments, "Yeah, why?"

"Well when I left he'd recently left that scar on your lip and you thought he was dumb."

A hint of a smile found its way onto her lips and the spidery white line over them as she recalled her earlier memories with Malak. "Opinions change, I suppose."

Talvon's eyes narrowed at her, nearly imperceptibly, but she caught on. "What?" she asked.

He seemed to dismiss it as he shook his head slightly, "So how's Dantooine been?"

"Dantooine is Dantooine, Kae is Kae, the Council is the Council, and I am I. Basically nothing has changed nor will ever change, because I swear Dantooine has to be the most plain and boring world in the galaxy. But come on, tell me more about Taris. Did you see any Rakghouls?"

"No, I wish. The whole thing got boring after a while. A lot of it was just political mumbo jumbo and required a lot of waiting, which obviously meant a ton of time spent with Nisotsa, and by the end I was ready to throw myself off of one of the high rises."

She nodded, "And here I was thinking you'd grown all mature and political over there."

"You know, I actually did for a little bit, but it just never seemed to end. You would've liked it though, it was definitely a Revan thing."

"A Revan thing?"

"Yeah a Revan thing, something that literally everyone in the galaxy finds boring except for you."

"Shut up," she said through a devious smile, "You just got back, do I have to beat you up already?"

"Ah the threats, I knew I was missing something on Taris."

"Aw that's sweet, Tal, I didn't know you missed me!" she said as she gave him a light punch in the shoulder.

He tilted his head, "Don't act like you didn't miss me too."

It was just a moment, a fleeting act of milliseconds as she kept her gaze fixed on his shoulder and realized that she didn't miss him entirely, maybe not even at all. It was as if the past year floated in and out of her mind faster than she could comprehend, and through it all there wasn't any obvious moment to her where she actually missed Talvon like a good friend should.

But she smiled at him anyways, hoping to get away from this conversation and not acknowledge that she'd been spending all her time with Malak and having fun while Talvon was helping solve serious problems on a politically corrupt planet. And he smiled back as he gave her a punch of his own.

"Come on then," he said, "Let's go eat, I'm starving and I've missed the food here."

"Well, at least some things don't change," she said with a nod, taking a brief glance behind them before she joined him on the short walk to the cafeteria.


	19. Ivy and Twine

Revan's fingernails pressed into the bend of her elbows, her arms crossed and resting on the table before her, and with each passing moment she dug further, sharper, just to test her limits as her mind drifted away. She sucked in her breath as one nail caught the skin just right and she had to pull her hands away, looking down at the crook of her arm, relieved not to find any blood.

"—and I told her that I didn't want to and that if she even thought she could make me she might as well just jump over the side because there was no way—are you even paying attention?"

Pulled from her odd reverie, she glanced up at Talvon, whose mouth was full as he kept chattering on. She'd finished lunch long before him and she was trying to figure out why she was still sitting there when she didn't entirely wish to be doing so.

"No," she said simply, it was honest and if she couldn't be honest with Talvon then she didn't know what her world would come to. She was already confused by it all; she'd never seemed to have had more than one best friend at a time, but since Talvon had come back she naturally went to spend all her time with him, and she felt guilty for every lingering moment that could've been spent with Malak instead.

It probably wasn't healthy, the way she could only focus on one person at a time. It was the same intensity that she used with all aspects of her life, one that couldn't necessarily be divided or shared. It wasn't as though she particularly enjoyed this quality of herself, but it was just the way she was. And it wasn't as though she didn't want to change, but that she didn't know how to.

"Rude," was all Talvon said before he went back to eating.

She watched him with a smirk, bending all her fingers in place and refusing the urge to bury them back into her arms. Her head bobbed slightly as she glanced around them. "I've gotta run," she said suddenly, "I actually made plans with Malak and I have to go meet up with him."

Talvon managed some sort of agreement despite the distraction of his food and Revan exhaled a short laugh. So what, she couldn't spread herself thin, but she figured Talvon had spent a lot more time with her than Malak ever had and she was already used to getting into shenanigans with the tall lanky boy, so she figured it wouldn't be too bad if she kind of...chose him over Talvon.

That's what friends do, right?

Her exhalation nearly turned into a fullforce laugh when she reached the hall and realized how impulsive she was. She had no idea if Malak was busy, let alone where he was. It was just the natural assumption that he was always there when she needed to spend time with him, and she hoped that this time would be no different.

It wasn't until she spotted him outside that she could feel the tension in her shoulders ease away. She slid out of the door and into the round area of benches where Malak sat by himself, seemingly looking past everything and it brought a familiar grin to Revan's face.

"Hey dummy," she called out, her smile growing when he rolled his eyes and looked towards her.

"I'm only answering because I knew it was you."

She sat down next to him on the bench, resigning herself that it would only be for a few moments. "I know," she assured.

"Yeah, right," he muttered, "So where's Talvon?"

She shifted slightly and bit the inside of her cheek for just a moment, "In the cafe, I kinda bolted on him."

There was just the slightest moment in which his eyebrows quirked, quickly returning to normal before he spoke, "And why is that?"

"Because you've been grumpy lately and I figured I'd rather spend the afternoon with you."

"I have not," he quickly defended.

"Oh? Then what do you call it?"

"Just..." he glanced away for a brief moment, "Waiting it out until things go back to normal, like they were before Talvon left."

She sighed just a tiny bit, letting a small exhalation of air escape her nearly closed lips, "They don't have to."

He smiled and butted his shoulder into hers, "Don't act serious, it scares me."

She didn't answer, opting to hit him back before she stopped, "I've got an idea."

"Not another one," he huffed, but the corners of his lips rose slightly.

"Shut up, come on," she said, standing and tugging on his wrist until he stood as well, ever hesitant to follow her.

"Where are we going?"

"For a walk."

His wrist twisted out of her grip but he didn't stop walking, "I can't stay out for long though, Zhar's expecting me in a couple of hours."

"Don't worry, it's just a walk."

"Sure," he said with a knowing smile, "Of course."

And maybe it was that she was being shortsighted, unable to allow herself more than best good friend at a time, and she knew that. Really, she did. But the dynamic had been the same for seemingly so long that she didn't know if she was ready for it to change, even though there was really no way of controlling it. She glanced over at Malak as they walked side by side, smiling when his arm naturally went to link around hers, and there was no denying that something had changed in the past year.

He chattered on about usual things, where he was with his training, the things Zhar had told him, and it was enough for her to realize how little Malak did need her in his life. That he was happy with just his training and she wondered if she would ever feel the same. Nothing was ever enough for her, training moved too slow and people were often a disappointment, but she liked Malak, and she liked listening to him as simple as it was.

She smiled when they passed the turn for their spot, taking the lead as they walked the path to Garang that was familiar to her, but assumed to be vague to Malak, who only walked it once and even then it was during the night seemingly forever ago. They didn't talk much on the way, once their idle chatter ran out they were both content to bask in the mid afternoon quiet and listen to the gentle hum of the Force.

And it seemed too easy to tune into it on Dantooine, it was like Revan could see the Force running through her body. As if she could take a moment to spare, she'd be able to see into the galaxy, to reach into its heart and synchronize its beat with her own. It was almost therapeutic, the walk to Garang, especially listening to the steady sounds of their footsteps covering the silence.

When they arrived, Revan gave him a quick smile before she gestured her head to the side, where there was a small, grassy hill that overlooked most of the central area of the settlement. Garang was by no means large, at least compared to cities on other planets, but it was large enough for Dantooine.

She was happy to see the settlement bustling, people out and about and speeders flying through, but what she really enjoyed in overlooking Garang was watching the smaller shuttles take off to whatever their destination, and the larger ships being prepared for much longer trips or simply sitting in the spaceport, docked. It was a vague sense of monotony that Revan found addictive, and taking a peek at Malak, she supposed it was at least interesting to him.

"Promise me something," she said once they were fully seated and settled in the warm grass.

He was supported by his arms reaching behind him, turning to face her by resting his cheek on his shoulder, "Okay."

Maybe it was strange, or maybe he wouldn't understand, but she supposed this was more who she was than anything else. "No," she said, "Just promise me anything."

He was quiet for what felt like a very, very long time. Too long, actually, but his grin turned cheeky and he met her eyes again, "I promise I won't ever force you out in the rain again."

And she laughed. It was silly and dumb, but it was safe and it felt sturdy; and stars, it was like she could actually feel something again that was able to break through the fog of the past few days. Her appreciation for it laid solely in the laugh that ripped from her chest, and somehow she knew it was enough.

"I've got an idea," she said, not for the first time that day.

"Not another one," he said, his words not new to his lips or the day either.

She laughed again, but this one was calmer and she merely stood, "No, this one's better."

"What is it?" he asked, his voice morose but his face proving otherwise.

"Can't tell you, it's a secret."

He hesitated before getting up, as he seemed to be doing with all things lately, but stood regardless and that too was enough. It never felt like she was making him do anything, though his reactions always proved otherwise.

They walked into Garang together. It was busy and full of a different kind of excitement than the last time they were there. It was just an average day for everyone and Revan liked that. She enjoyed seeing the other kind of life that normal, regular people lived and it was a fresh reminder of the privileges she'd had in her own.

She felt Malak's hand on her shoulder as they walked through a particularly crowded area. She glanced behind her to give him a small smile, his hands warm and secure, preventing them from being separated.

The crowd seemed to disperse once she spotted their destination: a shop that she'd always wanted to go in and always had a good idea of what they sold but never had the opportunity to explore. She figured now was as good a time as any to go in and finally see what she'd been so curious about.

A bell rung once they opened the door and Revan smiled at the man behind the counter. He didn't seem too much older than them but his disposition was cheery and she liked that. It added to the warmth of the shop, full of housing accessories and candles, cute trinkets and everything she imagined it would be littered with.

Malak gestured a candle towards her and she dipped her head, inhaling deep within her chest. It was like a jarred piece of home, it smelled like holidays and family and everything that she wished she could take part in. She wanted to keep it and light it in her room, just to keep that feeling always.

But candles weren't allowed, so she merely pulled back and let the scent wash over her one last time.

"Nice, right?" Malak noted once he put the lid back on and set it back on the shelf. She nodded and went about reading the labels on all of the other candles, smiling at the unusual ones and picking up the ones that sounded too good to pass up.

She was just setting down a candle when it was as if the Force itself was guiding her eyes to a table just a few steps away. She moved quickly, her eyes scanning the assortment of leather bracelets displayed neatly before her. Reaching out to brush her fingers over the thin, delicately woven strips of leather, each one was unique and very, very intricate.

She hummed as she glanced at the tag, not great but not bad, and she looked back over her shoulder at Malak before she grabbed a second one, bringing them promptly to the counter and pulling out a handful of credits.

Malak's gaze was caught from across the store, but by the time he drew close the items were already packed away in an opaque bag. "What are you doing?" he asked.

She counted out her credits, sliding the proper amount across the counter. "Just buying something is all, no big deal."

"What are you buying?" he asked, and she felt his chin resting on her shoulder.

"It's a secret."

"Where'd you get the credits?"

"It's a secret."

His chin moved away from her shoulder, backing up when she finished the exchanged and turned around.

"So what is it?" he asked again.

She smiled as she walked past him and towards the door, "Will you hold on for like two seconds? I'll show you."

His pout was distorted from holding back a smile, but he followed her nevertheless.

Conveniently there was a bench right out front, and she took to sitting down before she opened the bag, giving Malak a sly smile when he looked far more interested in it than her.

"It's for you," she said, though her hand remained frozen within the bag

"Oh really?"

"Close your eyes," she said. She could tell the suspense was driving him crazy and that made her smile just a little bit more. He complied, but she gave him just a few more seconds of silence to make it that much more dramatic.

"Now hold out your hand."

When he did she gently tugged at his sleeve, exposing his surprisingly delicate wrist. She waited just a moment for a little extra suspense, her eyes scanning the delicate bones that stuck out from his still thin frame and she smiled before she pulled the delicate leather bracelet out of the bag, letting her fingers trace over the braided section one more time before she wrapped it around his wrist.

She caught him peeking at it when she was mid tying it, forcing her to slap at his arm, "You're terrible, it was supposed to be a surprise."

"A bracelet?"

She nodded, and watched as he inspected it, twisting it around a few times. He smiled as she pulled out another, similar one and gestured for him to tie it for her.

He was gentle with her thin wrist and he laughed as he finished, "These aren't some sappy friendship bracelets, are they?"

"Of course they are," she said, and the condescending face he pulled wasn't enough to mask the happiness that radiated off of him. "We're sticking it to the man," she said, forming two fists, "Forget the whole 'no-possessions' thing, these'll mean something. Plus they're brown."

He didn't catch on right away, but when he did he smiled, "Then I'm never taking mine off."

"Oh, me neither, you can count on it."

And she wondered then if she'd ever be eighty and still forcing Malak to go on weird adventures with her; if they'd still link arms and laugh about old memories, the moments they were sharing now. If all their Masters would be gone and maybe they'd be on the Council, teaching Padawans such as themselves and if it would really be that different. And through all of that they'd look so different, full of wrinkles and extra weight, but around their wrists would still be the leather bracelets, though she was sure they'd be ratty and well worn by then.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, obviously aware that she was unfocused.

She was quiet for just a moment, watching as he ran his thumb along the leather wrapped around her wrist, "What we'll be like when we're eighty."

"Oh yeah? Any different than we are now?"

She shook her head, "You'll still whine at me for doing weird things, and I'll probably still be on Dantooine caught between loving it and hating it. We'll have our own Padawans and we can make them spar seeing as we probably never will."

"We won't," he confirmed, "But I think that it'll be fun. It's weird to think that it'll actually happen; that we'll get old, you know? We could be on the Council for all we know, taking over Vrook's job when he dies."

"He's never going to die."

Malak let out a short laugh, "I'm sorry, 'become one with the Force'."

"No," she said seriously, trying to hold back a smile, "I doubt he'll ever actually die."

"So me, you, and Vrook on the Council," he paused for a moment, "Force, can you imagine?"

She laughed, "It'd be a trainwreck and a half, I'm sure. It's scary though, how easy it would be to become stationary, taking a position like that."

"Yeah, but I mean you wouldn't be taking it unless you'd lived and adventured, proving yourself to be very unstationary. I think you'd be ready to settle down by the time you get to be on the Council. And besides, it's not today."

She smiled before she glanced up at him, meeting his eyes, "You're right, who are we to worry about the future?"

"Certainly not you or I."

"Agreed," she said as she pulled her wrist away from his grip, standing and brushing off the backs of her legs, "You ready?"

He nodded, standing as well, "Of course."

"It's getting late, you know," she said, "And we still have the walk back. Didn't you say you needed to meet with Zhar?"

He shook his head, "I'll just tell him I was with you. He likes you, you know."

"Well who wouldn't?"

His pushed her, but his arm caught hers before she was too far away, pulling her in to link them together as they usually did. It brought a smile to her face, because it was normal now and she liked the normalcy of it. While she'd never been one to stay stationary for too long or keep routines, she needed some sort of anchor, and she knew that her arm linked with Malak's was exactly what she needed.


	20. A Curse for this Town

Revan closed her eyes as the breeze picked up and washed over her face. There was just a moment, lost in a split second, but there was a moment where she felt like she was completely out of her body, floating off and away to somewhere safe, somewhere warm where she was happy and everything was content.

But in just as fleeting a moment, her eyes were open and not everything was perfect. Nothing was wrong and nothing was off, but it was just life and it still seemed to move too slow. She couldn't speed it up, and she knew that someday she'd want it to slow down again, to come back a relive these memories more slowly than they were passing the first time, but she couldn't bother to mourn for the future. It was unknown and she felt unknown and somehow this made the tumultuously slow passing of time okay.

As well as out of the corner of her eye, Malak was seated next to her. His eyes were still focused on a datapad, at some point she'd been reading one too but had finished and decided to breathe in the breeze instead. He liked slow afternoons, he didn't seem to crave action as much as she did and she supposed that was probably because he'd seen more.

It didn't bother her as much as it used to, her lack of travel. She longed to see outside of Dantooine but somehow found peace while she was still planetside. There was no sign of her leaving anytime soon either, Kae was still in and out and managed to approve of Revan's work in the garage, even though she only worked on it with her utmost spare time. It still didn't look like anything but it satisfied Revan when her mind got to be too much or if the Force was too loud in her veins, careening to a point in which she had to do something about it.

Her hands took to the end of her braid, pulling it out and weaving her fingers through her dark locks until it was completely loose. It was comfortable, and she let the next gust flow into her lungs, easing out with the same gentle hum that it came in with. It wasn't until then that she realized Malak was looking at her, or that she'd even been watching him the entire time, but nevertheless his eyebrow perked up.

"You hungry?" he asked.

Revan nodded, "It's about lunch time anyways."

Malak stood first, lowering a hand to help her up and she smiled when his index finger nipped at the leather bracelet still wrapped around her wrist. They caught each other's gaze for just a moment before she pouted up at him, "Stop being taller than me."

"Can't help it if you're short, Rev."

She shook her head, sizing herself coming up to about his chin, "I'm not that short."

"Yes you are," he said with a short laugh.

"I'm taller than Talvon."

Malak stopped walking and she followed shortly, confusion evident on her face. He put two hands on her shoulders, whether or not he was trying to make himself seem that much taller didn't fail to have an effect on her. He spoke slowly but his features crinkled into a smile, "Revan, Talvon is short."

She hummed for a moment before she continued walking, joined by Malak seconds later. "I suppose you're right," she said, "But that doesn't take away from the fact that you're tall."

"No, I guess it doesn't."

They left it at that as they reached the cafeteria, spotting Talvon and Cariaga eating together near their usual spot. For a second it felt like it used to, when her and Malak would argue after lessons and they'd walk to the cafe together. It was funny to think that they weren't friends for so long, now that it was just a natural thing for them. Talvon looked up at them with a smile, gesturing for them to join him, which they did.

"Just like old times," Talvon said, seemingly voicing Revan's thoughts, "The whole gang back together."

Revan quirked a brow as she sat down, "We're not that great of a gang, I think we'd need a sign or something."

Cariaga smiled, which was directly contrasted by Talvon's frown, "Do all gangs need a sign?"

"The lazy ones don't," Malak cut in, which forced a sharp laugh from Talvon..

Revan had to crack a smile as well, "Then I guess we'll be a lazy one."

"It was just an offhand comment," Talvon noted as he went back to his food, "I know we're not literally a gang."

Revan nodded, "Of course."

Cariaga shifted in her seat before she pushed her dish ahead of her, "I like your bracelet Revan," she said with a kind smile and sometimes Revan just really loved Cariaga. She was such a sweet person, quiet and kind in her own right.

"Thank you," she said, her hand instinctively moving over to brush her fingers along the leather that was still breaking in.

"Malak's got one too," Talvon commented over a mouthful of food.

All eyes seemed to turn towards Malak's wrist, which wasn't exposed like Revan's, who couldn't stand to keep her sleeves rolled down. Malak tilted his head to either side before he sighed and rolled up his sleeve, exposing his bracelet.

Cariaga's lips turned up in a kind smile, "I like them."

"Frack," Talvon cut in, "Kill me now."

All their eyes turned to the sandy haired boy, whose face was covered by his own hands. Revan looked back over her shoulder only to see Nisotsa coming towards them and she couldn't help the quiet laugh that tore from her chest. It forced Malak and Cariaga to follow her gaze, both of them smiling at the sight of the unusually perky girl.

"Hey guys," she said with a smile, sitting down at one of the empty seats at the table, "Hey Talvon."

Talvon, being the ever polite human being that he was, turned his head towards her and watched her through spread fingers. "Hey," he said, his voice the epitome of morose.

She giggled at that and Revan frowned. It was nowhere near funny and she realized then that there was the ever underlying possibility that the poor girl that grated on everyone's nerves had a crush on poor Talvon. Revan smiled at the thought and regarded Nisotsa. "Did you like Taris?" she asked.

Nisotsa nodded, "Very much. Hey Tal, did you tell them about that crazy guy in the upper city?"

His hands lowered from his face, his gaze straight ahead, completely stone-faced. "No," he said, his voice absolute monotony, and worse than before, "I don't think they'd really care, I don't really care."

Revan watched as Nisotsa's features fell. She had to admit that sometimes she felt bad for the girl. Sure, she was annoying most of the time, but other times she was...well Revan had never really enjoyed an encounter with her, but that didn't warrant any harsh feelings. And maybe Talvon was fully in his rights to act cold towards her, having spent a year by her side and having to deal with her all the time, but that wasn't what Revan wanted, so she turned to the younger girl once more.

"What would he do?" she asked.

Nisotsa's eyes rolled before her gaze fixated on Revan through narrowed eyes, "Oh it wasn't anything, just the usual thing you find off planet. Guess you wouldn't know though."

Revan wanted to take back all her good natured thoughts towards her as she watched as Nisotsa gave them all a smile before she got up and left, the small huff escaping her lips unmistakable.

She wanted to pretend that she didn't care, that her stomach didn't drop as the words fell from Nisotsa's lips. But there was no taking them back, and it was just a cruel reminder of her destiny to stay on Dantooine forever.

Revan's fingers drummed against the table lightly as they all sat in silence, her three friends watching her carefully. She forced a smile onto her face before she spoke. "Well that was hostile," she said, but none of them cracked a smile, all watching with equal concern and it nearly made her squirm in her seat.

"If you'll excuse me," her voice came out clearly and did not waver, mostly because she refused to cry over anything anyone said. It was just a sensitive issue for Revan and that's all it would ever be.

But it was enough to get her to leave, and whether or not that was Nisotsa's intent didn't entirely matter at the moment. What mattered was moving on, getting past it as quickly and quietly as possible.

Her room didn't seem like the right place to go, it was such a given, to hide away in the privacy of her room. It seemed like such a teenage girl thing to do and she hated that, she wanted to get as far away from that as quickly as possible, but she wanted to be alone, and the only other private area she knew of was her and Malak's spot. Figuring it was the best place to go, she added a little extra hurry to her steps, carrying her away from the Enclave as efficiently as possible.

When she got there she let her legs dangle lazily over the edge, letting the backs of her ankles kick against the hard earth that was a keen reminder of her ties to Dantooine. Sure, she'd had no other memories of being anywhere else, and her Master never took her, but that didn't make Dantooine any less appealing. She felt connected to it, as if it were her and Dantooine against everyone else.

And she was finally able to let out the air that had been pooling for seemingly too long within her lungs, bringing her hands to her face to somehow rub away all memory of Nisotsa.

Malak's presence was aware to her before he even spoke as he approached her. "Please tell me you're not crying over something Nisotsa said," he said.

She smiled, turning back to show her face clear of tears to him, proud that, while she was sulking, she was definitely not crying. "No," she said, her voice just as steady as before.

"Good," Malak said, sitting next to her, his legs joining hers in dangling over the side, "Because that was stupid."

"It was," she said with a soft nod, "What would you do if I was crying?"

He shrugged slightly, "I don't know, I wish I could say I'd tell her off or something, but I probably wouldn't. Most likely I'd hug you until you felt better."

She nodded, "Could you do that anyways?"

His head turned towards her quickly, but he broke into a smile. "Of course," he said, one arm reaching around her back, the other meeting it from the other side. She was immediately squished against his chest, soft from his warm robes and she took a deep breath, exhaling against him. She closed her eyes, nuzzling her forehead just a little bit to get more comfortable.

It wasn't as though the hug lasted for very long, but she was content to be in his arms. It took her mind off of stupid Nisotsa as everything about him filled her senses. She could feel him through the Force, the very kindness and sincerity bleeding through more than anything else. It was enough and she made a mental note to hug Malak more often.

"Thank you," she spoke against his chest in the brief moment before she pulled away.

He watched her carefully for a moment. "Better?"

She nodded, "Of course."

And it quite possibly didn't matter at all. That it was just another moment lost in split seconds, where she was outside of herself and that place was very safe and very comfortable, and when it was lost it was not without purpose and she knew that.


End file.
